diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/TransportShardBulkAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/TransportShardBulkAction.java
index b183ec7ad43..fc580dd3880 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/TransportShardBulkAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/TransportShardBulkAction.java
@@ -369,6 +369,9 @@ public class TransportShardBulkAction extends TransportWriteAction<BulkShardRequ
             BulkItemRequest item = request.items()[i];
             if (item.isIgnoreOnReplica() == false) {
                 DocWriteRequest docWriteRequest = item.request();
+                // ensure request version is updated for replica operation during request execution in the primary
+                assert docWriteRequest.versionType() == docWriteRequest.versionType().versionTypeForReplicationAndRecovery()
+                        : "unexpected version in replica " + docWriteRequest.version();
                 final Engine.Result operationResult;
                 try {
                     switch (docWriteRequest.opType()) {