diff --git a/weed/storage/needle/needle_read.go b/weed/storage/needle/needle_read.go
index ac443a371..545f85baa 100644
--- a/weed/storage/needle/needle_read.go
+++ b/weed/storage/needle/needle_read.go
@@ -225,12 +225,11 @@ func (n *Needle) ReadNeedleBody(r backend.BackendStorageFile, version Version, o
 func (n *Needle) ReadNeedleBodyBytes(needleBody []byte, version Version) (err error) {
 
 	// n.Size comes from the on-disk header, so a corrupted header can carry a
-	// negative size or one the body cannot hold along with its tail.
-	tailSize := NeedleChecksumSize
-	if version == Version3 {
-		tailSize += TimestampSize
-	}
-	if n.Size < 0 || int64(n.Size)+int64(tailSize) > int64(len(needleBody)) {
+	// negative size or one the body cannot hold along with its tail. Deriving
+	// the tail from the version's own layout keeps the bound exact for every
+	// on-disk format.
+	tailSize := NeedleBodyLength(n.Size, version) - int64(n.Size) - int64(PaddingLength(n.Size, version))
+	if n.Size < 0 || int64(n.Size)+tailSize > int64(len(needleBody)) {
 		stats.VolumeServerHandlerCounter.WithLabelValues(stats.ErrorIndexOutOfRange).Inc()
 		return fmt.Errorf("needle %v size %d out of range for body length %d: %w", n.Id, n.Size, len(needleBody), ErrorCorrupted)
 	}
diff --git a/weed/storage/needle/needle_read_test.go b/weed/storage/needle/needle_read_test.go
index 262f7ab05..1c57c02ca 100644
--- a/weed/storage/needle/needle_read_test.go
+++ b/weed/storage/needle/needle_read_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package needle
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"errors"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	. "github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/storage/types"
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ func readNeedleBodyBytes(t *testing.T, n *Needle, body []byte, version Version)
 // A corrupted .dat header can carry a size that does not fit the body read for
 // it. Vacuum used to panic on it with "slice bounds out of range [:-1]" (#6763).
 func TestReadNeedleBodyBytesRejectsCorruptSize(t *testing.T) {
-	for _, version := range []Version{Version1, Version2, Version3} {
+	for version := Version1; IsSupportedVersion(version); version++ {
 		t.Run(versionString(version), func(t *testing.T) {
 			// A size of -1 is the case from #6763: its body length is still
 			// positive, so the scan reads a body and hands it over.
@@ -60,12 +61,18 @@ func TestReadNeedleBodyBytesRejectsCorruptSize(t *testing.T) {
 // The size guard must still accept every record the writer produces,
 // including the size-0 record a delete appends.
 func TestReadNeedleBodyBytesWrittenNeedles(t *testing.T) {
-	for _, version := range []Version{Version1, Version2, Version3} {
+	for version := Version1; IsSupportedVersion(version); version++ {
 		t.Run(versionString(version), func(t *testing.T) {
 			for _, data := range [][]byte{nil, []byte("hello seaweed")} {
 				written := &Needle{Id: 7, Cookie: 9, Data: data, Checksum: NewCRC(data), AppendAtNs: 42}
 				buf := new(bytes.Buffer)
 				if _, _, err := writeNeedleByVersion(version, written, 0, buf); err != nil {
+					// Some builds can read a version they cannot write; skip
+					// only that recognized case so a real writer regression
+					// still fails the test.
+					if strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(err.Error()), "unsupported version") {
+						t.Skipf("version %d is not writable in this build: %v", version, err)
+					}
 					t.Fatalf("write needle: %v", err)
 				}