diff --git a/lib/src/solver/package_lister.dart b/lib/src/solver/package_lister.dart
index 56aa960851..a44be53027 100644
--- a/lib/src/solver/package_lister.dart
+++ b/lib/src/solver/package_lister.dart
@@ -162,10 +162,16 @@ class PackageLister {
   /// Returns the best version of this package that matches [constraint]
   /// according to the solver's prioritization scheme, or `null` if no versions
   /// match.
+  /// If [allowPrereleases] is false, this will only consider non-prerelease
+  /// versions unless there are no non-prerelease versions that match
+  /// [constraint].
   ///
   /// Throws a [PackageNotFoundException] if this lister's package doesn't
   /// exist.
-  Future<PackageId?> bestVersion(VersionConstraint constraint) async {
+  Future<PackageId?> bestVersion(
+    VersionConstraint constraint, {
+    bool allowPrereleases = true,
+  }) async {
     final locked = _locked;
     if (locked != null && constraint.allows(locked.version)) return locked;
 
@@ -192,6 +198,7 @@ class PackageLister {
       if (isPastLimit(id.version)) break;
 
       if (!constraint.allows(id.version)) continue;
+      if (!allowPrereleases && id.version.isPreRelease) continue;
       if (!id.version.isPreRelease) {
         return id;
       }
diff --git a/lib/src/solver/version_solver.dart b/lib/src/solver/version_solver.dart
index 0d0f119e79..d657930583 100644
--- a/lib/src/solver/version_solver.dart
+++ b/lib/src/solver/version_solver.dart
@@ -396,9 +396,44 @@ class VersionSolver {
       return null; // when unsatisfied.isEmpty
     }
 
+    // Prereleases are allowed only if the dependency is transitive, or if
+    // the constraint explicitly allows prereleases.
+    bool shouldAllowPrereleases(String packageName) {
+      final workspaces = [_root, ..._root.workspaceChildren];
+      bool constraintContainsPrerelease(VersionConstraint? constraint) {
+        if (constraint is Version) {
+          return constraint.isPreRelease;
+        }
+        if (constraint is VersionRange) {
+          return (constraint.min != null && constraint.min!.isPreRelease) ||
+              (constraint.max != null && constraint.max!.isPreRelease) ||
+              constraint.isAny;
+        }
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      var isDirectOrDev = false;
+      for (final workspace in workspaces) {
+        final directDep = workspace.dependencies[packageName];
+        if (directDep != null &&
+            constraintContainsPrerelease(directDep.constraint)) {
+          return true;
+        }
+        final devDep = workspace.devDependencies[packageName];
+        if (devDep != null && constraintContainsPrerelease(devDep.constraint)) {
+          return true;
+        }
+        isDirectOrDev = isDirectOrDev || directDep != null || devDep != null;
+      }
+      return !isDirectOrDev;
+    }
+
     PackageId? version;
     try {
-      version = await _packageLister(package).bestVersion(package.constraint);
+      final allowPrereleases = shouldAllowPrereleases(package.name);
+      version = await _packageLister(
+        package,
+      ).bestVersion(package.constraint, allowPrereleases: allowPrereleases);
     } on PackageNotFoundException catch (error) {
       _addIncompatibility(
         Incompatibility([
diff --git a/test/version_solver_test.dart b/test/version_solver_test.dart
index dcf5a42412..28390d003c 100644
--- a/test/version_solver_test.dart
+++ b/test/version_solver_test.dart
@@ -1666,6 +1666,20 @@ void prerelease() {
     await d.appDir(dependencies: {'a': '^1.0.0'}).create();
     await expectResolves(tries: 2);
   });
+
+  // This is a regression test for #4659.
+  test('not upgrading to prerelease when constrained to stable', () async {
+    await servePackages()
+      ..serve('a', '1.0.0', deps: {'c': '^1.0.0'})
+      ..serve('b', '1.0.0', deps: {'c': '^1.0.0'})
+      ..serve('c', '1.0.0')
+      ..serve('a', '2.0.0', deps: {'c': '^2.0.0'})
+      ..serve('b', '2.0.0-dev', deps: {'c': '^2.0.0'})
+      ..serve('c', '2.0.0');
+
+    await d.appDir(dependencies: {'a': '^1.0.0', 'b': '^1.0.0'}).create();
+    await expectResolves(result: {'a': '1.0.0', 'b': '1.0.0', 'c': '1.0.0'});
+  });
 }
 
 void override() {