diff --git a/.github/workflows/update-smoke-test-latest-versions.yaml b/.github/workflows/update-smoke-test-latest-versions.yaml
index 2e73a43038f..dc36cffeb5f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/update-smoke-test-latest-versions.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/update-smoke-test-latest-versions.yaml
@@ -44,8 +44,8 @@ jobs:
           METADATA=$(curl -sf https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/org/apache/maven/apache-maven/maven-metadata.xml)
           # Get all versions, filter out alpha/beta/rc, take the latest
           VERSION=$(echo "$METADATA" \
-            | xmllint --xpath '//versions/version/text()' - 2>/dev/null \
-            | tr ' ' '\n' \
+            | grep -o '<version>[^<]*</version>' \
+            | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g' \
             | grep -v -E '(alpha|beta|rc)' \
             | sort -V \
             | tail -1)
@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ jobs:
           METADATA=$(curl -sf https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/org/apache/maven/plugins/maven-surefire-plugin/maven-metadata.xml)
           # Get all versions, filter out alpha/beta, take the latest
           VERSION=$(echo "$METADATA" \
-            | xmllint --xpath '//versions/version/text()' - 2>/dev/null \
-            | tr ' ' '\n' \
+            | grep -o '<version>[^<]*</version>' \
+            | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g' \
             | grep -v -E '(alpha|beta)' \
             | sort -V \
             | tail -1)
@@ -80,6 +80,11 @@ jobs:
           MAVEN_VERSION: ${{ steps.maven.outputs.version }}
           SUREFIRE_VERSION: ${{ steps.surefire.outputs.version }}
         run: |
+          echo "Writing resolved versions to properties files:"
+          echo "  Gradle:         ${GRADLE_VERSION}"
+          echo "  Maven:          ${MAVEN_VERSION}"
+          echo "  Maven Surefire: ${SUREFIRE_VERSION}"
+
           printf '%s\n' \
             "# Pinned \"latest\" versions for CI Visibility Gradle smoke tests." \
             "# Updated automatically by the update-smoke-test-latest-versions workflow." \
@@ -97,9 +102,14 @@ jobs:
         id: check-changes
         run: |
           if [[ -z "$(git status -s)" ]]; then
-            echo "No changes to commit."
+            echo "No changes detected — pinned versions are already up to date."
             echo "has_changes=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           else
+            echo "Changes detected in the following files:"
+            git status -s
+            echo ""
+            echo "Diff:"
+            git diff
             echo "has_changes=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           fi