diff --git a/__tests__/distributors/graalvm-installer.test.ts b/__tests__/distributors/graalvm-installer.test.ts
index 155e3d9e..beefbd13 100644
--- a/__tests__/distributors/graalvm-installer.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/distributors/graalvm-installer.test.ts
@@ -1058,6 +1058,20 @@ describe('GraalVMDistribution', () => {
           'GraalVM Community does not provide early access builds'
         );
       });
+
+      it('should surface an error when the releases listing is not an array', async () => {
+        mockHttpClient.getJson.mockResolvedValue({
+          result: {message: 'API rate limit exceeded'},
+          statusCode: 403,
+          headers: {}
+        });
+
+        await expect(
+          (communityDistribution as any).findPackageForDownload('21')
+        ).rejects.toThrow(
+          /Unexpected response while listing GraalVM Community releases.*HTTP status code: 403/s
+        );
+      });
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/dist/setup/index.js b/dist/setup/index.js
index 007b4849..bbf320eb 100644
--- a/dist/setup/index.js
+++ b/dist/setup/index.js
@@ -79300,7 +79300,17 @@ class GraalVMCommunityDistribution extends GraalVMDistribution {
             let releasesUrl = GRAALVM_COMMUNITY_RELEASES_URL;
             for (let pageIndex = 0; releasesUrl && pageIndex < util_1.MAX_PAGINATION_PAGES; pageIndex++) {
                 const response = yield this.http.getJson(releasesUrl, headers);
-                const releases = Array.isArray(response.result) ? response.result : [];
+                // A successful GitHub releases listing is always a JSON array (possibly
+                // empty). Anything else indicates an unexpected/error payload (rate
+                // limiting, auth failure, etc.) that must be surfaced instead of being
+                // silently treated as "no releases", which would later look like a
+                // misleading "version not found" error.
+                if (!Array.isArray(response.result)) {
+                    throw new Error(`Unexpected response while listing GraalVM Community releases from ${releasesUrl} ` +
+                        `(HTTP status code: ${response.statusCode}). Expected a JSON array of releases. ` +
+                        `Please check if the service is available at ${GRAALVM_COMMUNITY_DOWNLOAD_URL}.`);
+                }
+                const releases = response.result;
                 if (releases.length === 0) {
                     break;
                 }
diff --git a/docs/advanced-usage.md b/docs/advanced-usage.md
index b12a49b9..58301be9 100644
--- a/docs/advanced-usage.md
+++ b/docs/advanced-usage.md
@@ -186,8 +186,8 @@ steps:
     distribution: 'graalvm-community'
     java-version: '21'
 - run: |
-    java -cp java HelloWorldApp
-    native-image -cp java HelloWorldApp
+    java --version
+    native-image --version
 ```
 
 ### JetBrains
diff --git a/src/distributions/graalvm/installer.ts b/src/distributions/graalvm/installer.ts
index 2b2442f8..861cf12a 100644
--- a/src/distributions/graalvm/installer.ts
+++ b/src/distributions/graalvm/installer.ts
@@ -391,7 +391,20 @@ export class GraalVMCommunityDistribution extends GraalVMDistribution {
         headers
       );
 
-      const releases = Array.isArray(response.result) ? response.result : [];
+      // A successful GitHub releases listing is always a JSON array (possibly
+      // empty). Anything else indicates an unexpected/error payload (rate
+      // limiting, auth failure, etc.) that must be surfaced instead of being
+      // silently treated as "no releases", which would later look like a
+      // misleading "version not found" error.
+      if (!Array.isArray(response.result)) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `Unexpected response while listing GraalVM Community releases from ${releasesUrl} ` +
+            `(HTTP status code: ${response.statusCode}). Expected a JSON array of releases. ` +
+            `Please check if the service is available at ${GRAALVM_COMMUNITY_DOWNLOAD_URL}.`
+        );
+      }
+
+      const releases = response.result;
       if (releases.length === 0) {
         break;
       }