diff --git a/lib/gitlab/git_access.rb b/lib/gitlab/git_access.rb
index 3ed1eec517c0143b204ae59c793e268ea483a1c0..ad2da2b81cf23516e77b3e87910df6b5b1c7a2fe 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/git_access.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/git_access.rb
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ def protected_branch_action(oldrev, newrev, branch_name)
     end
 
     def protected_tag?(tag_name)
-      project.repository.tag_names.include?(tag_name)
+      project.repository.tag_exists?(tag_name)
     end
 
     def user_allowed?