diff --git a/pkg/v1/remote/write.go b/pkg/v1/remote/write.go
index 94d207de1..8b009f91a 100644
--- a/pkg/v1/remote/write.go
+++ b/pkg/v1/remote/write.go
@@ -461,8 +461,17 @@ func unpackTaggable(t Taggable) ([]byte, *v1.Descriptor, error) {
 	}, nil
 }
 
-// commitSubjectReferrers is responsible for updating the fallback tag manifest to track descriptors referring to a subject for registries that don't yet support the Referrers API.
-// TODO: use conditional requests to avoid race conditions
+// maxFallbackTagRetries is the maximum number of times to retry a fallback
+// tag update when a conditional request returns 412 Precondition Failed.
+const maxFallbackTagRetries = 3
+
+// commitSubjectReferrers is responsible for updating the fallback tag manifest
+// to track descriptors referring to a subject for registries that don't yet
+// support the Referrers API.
+//
+// It uses conditional requests (ETag / If-Match / If-None-Match) to prevent
+// lost updates when multiple writers attach referrers to the same subject
+// concurrently.
 func (w *writer) commitSubjectReferrers(ctx context.Context, sub name.Digest, add v1.Descriptor) error {
 	// Check if the registry supports Referrers API.
 	// TODO: This should be done once per registry, not once per subject.
@@ -486,24 +495,51 @@ func (w *writer) commitSubjectReferrers(ctx context.Context, sub name.Digest, ad
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	// The registry doesn't support Referrers API, we need to update the manifest tagged with the fallback tag.
-	// Make the request to GET the current manifest.
 	t := fallbackTag(sub)
-	u = w.url(fmt.Sprintf("/v2/%s/manifests/%s", w.repo.RepositoryStr(), t.Identifier()))
-	req, err = http.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, u.String(), nil)
-	if err != nil {
+
+	for attempt := 0; attempt < maxFallbackTagRetries; attempt++ {
+		etag, err := w.tryCommitFallbackTag(ctx, t, add)
+		if err == nil {
+			return nil
+		}
+		// If we got a 412, the tag was updated by another writer between
+		// our GET and PUT. Re-read and retry.
+		var terr *transport.Error
+		if errors.As(err, &terr) && terr.StatusCode == http.StatusPreconditionFailed {
+			logs.Progress.Printf("fallback tag %s was updated concurrently (attempt %d/%d, etag=%s), retrying",
+				t.Identifier(), attempt+1, maxFallbackTagRetries, etag)
+			continue
+		}
 		return err
 	}
+
+	return fmt.Errorf("failed to update fallback tag %s after %d attempts due to concurrent updates",
+		t.Identifier(), maxFallbackTagRetries)
+}
+
+// tryCommitFallbackTag performs a single GET-modify-PUT cycle for the fallback
+// tag with conditional request headers. It returns the ETag used (for logging)
+// and any error. A 412 error signals a concurrent update.
+func (w *writer) tryCommitFallbackTag(ctx context.Context, t name.Tag, add v1.Descriptor) (string, error) {
+	// GET the current manifest.
+	u := w.url(fmt.Sprintf("/v2/%s/manifests/%s", w.repo.RepositoryStr(), t.Identifier()))
+	req, err := http.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, u.String(), nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
 	req.Header.Set("Accept", string(types.OCIImageIndex))
-	resp, err = w.client.Do(req.WithContext(ctx))
+	resp, err := w.client.Do(req.WithContext(ctx))
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return "", err
 	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()
 
 	var im v1.IndexManifest
+	etag := resp.Header.Get("ETag")
+	existed := false
+
 	if err := transport.CheckError(resp, http.StatusOK, http.StatusNotFound); err != nil {
-		return err
+		return etag, err
 	} else if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusNotFound {
 		// Not found just means there are no attachments. Start with an empty index.
 		im = v1.IndexManifest{
@@ -512,20 +548,21 @@ func (w *writer) commitSubjectReferrers(ctx context.Context, sub name.Digest, ad
 			Manifests:     []v1.Descriptor{add},
 		}
 	} else {
+		existed = true
 		if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&im); err != nil {
-			return err
+			return etag, err
 		}
 		if im.SchemaVersion != 2 {
-			return fmt.Errorf("fallback tag manifest is not a schema version 2: %d", im.SchemaVersion)
+			return etag, fmt.Errorf("fallback tag manifest is not a schema version 2: %d", im.SchemaVersion)
 		}
 		if im.MediaType != types.OCIImageIndex {
-			return fmt.Errorf("fallback tag manifest is not an OCI image index: %s", im.MediaType)
+			return etag, fmt.Errorf("fallback tag manifest is not an OCI image index: %s", im.MediaType)
 		}
 		for _, desc := range im.Manifests {
 			if desc.Digest == add.Digest {
 				// The digest is already attached, nothing to do.
 				logs.Progress.Printf("fallback tag %s already had referrer", t.Identifier())
-				return nil
+				return etag, nil
 			}
 		}
 		// Append the new descriptor to the index.
@@ -536,8 +573,35 @@ func (w *writer) commitSubjectReferrers(ctx context.Context, sub name.Digest, ad
 	sort.Slice(im.Manifests, func(i, j int) bool {
 		return im.Manifests[i].Digest.String() < im.Manifests[j].Digest.String()
 	})
+
+	raw, err := json.Marshal(im)
+	if err != nil {
+		return etag, err
+	}
+
+	// PUT with conditional headers.
+	req, err = http.NewRequest(http.MethodPut, u.String(), bytes.NewReader(raw))
+	if err != nil {
+		return etag, err
+	}
+	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", string(types.OCIImageIndex))
+	if existed && etag != "" {
+		req.Header.Set("If-Match", etag)
+	} else if !existed {
+		req.Header.Set("If-None-Match", "*")
+	}
+
 	logs.Progress.Printf("updating fallback tag %s with new referrer", t.Identifier())
-	return w.commitManifest(ctx, fallbackTaggable{im}, t)
+	resp, err = w.client.Do(req.WithContext(ctx))
+	if err != nil {
+		return etag, err
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+
+	if err := transport.CheckError(resp, http.StatusOK, http.StatusCreated, http.StatusAccepted); err != nil {
+		return etag, err
+	}
+	return etag, nil
 }
 
 type fallbackTaggable struct {