diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d198fcc130c8..31913f4169cf 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ### Fixed
 
 - Don't transition `visibility` when using `transition` ([#18795](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/18795))
+- Discard matched variants with unknown named values ([#18799](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/18799))
+- Discard matched variants with non-string values ([#18799](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/18799))
 
 ## [4.1.12] - 2025-08-13
 
diff --git a/packages/tailwindcss/src/compat/plugin-api.test.ts b/packages/tailwindcss/src/compat/plugin-api.test.ts
index 3058f9924995..4e35afa5a84e 100644
--- a/packages/tailwindcss/src/compat/plugin-api.test.ts
+++ b/packages/tailwindcss/src/compat/plugin-api.test.ts
@@ -2778,6 +2778,79 @@ describe('matchVariant', () => {
       }"
     `)
   })
+
+  test('ignores variants that use unknown values', async () => {
+    let { build } = await compile(
+      css`
+        @plugin "my-plugin";
+        @layer utilities {
+          @tailwind utilities;
+        }
+      `,
+      {
+        loadModule: async (id, base) => {
+          return {
+            path: '',
+            base,
+            module: ({ matchVariant }: PluginAPI) => {
+              matchVariant('foo', (flavor) => `&:is(${flavor})`, {
+                values: {
+                  known: 'known',
+                },
+              })
+            },
+          }
+        },
+      },
+    )
+
+    let compiled = build(['foo-[test]:flex', 'foo-known:flex', 'foo-unknown:flex'])
+
+    expect(optimizeCss(compiled).trim()).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+      "@layer utilities {
+        .foo-known\\:flex:is(known), .foo-\\[test\\]\\:flex:is(test) {
+          display: flex;
+        }
+      }"
+    `)
+  })
+
+  test('ignores variants that produce non-string values', async () => {
+    let { build } = await compile(
+      css`
+        @plugin "my-plugin";
+        @layer utilities {
+          @tailwind utilities;
+        }
+      `,
+      {
+        loadModule: async (id, base) => {
+          return {
+            path: '',
+            base,
+            module: ({ matchVariant }: PluginAPI) => {
+              matchVariant('foo', (flavor) => `&:is(${flavor})`, {
+                values: {
+                  string: 'some string',
+                  object: { some: 'object' },
+                },
+              })
+            },
+          }
+        },
+      },
+    )
+
+    let compiled = build(['foo-[test]:flex', 'foo-string:flex', 'foo-object:flex'])
+
+    expect(optimizeCss(compiled).trim()).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+      "@layer utilities {
+        .foo-string\\:flex:is(some string), .foo-\\[test\\]\\:flex:is(test) {
+          display: flex;
+        }
+      }"
+    `)
+  })
 })
 
 describe('addUtilities()', () => {
diff --git a/packages/tailwindcss/src/compat/plugin-api.ts b/packages/tailwindcss/src/compat/plugin-api.ts
index 950302807db0..321a245eee3f 100644
--- a/packages/tailwindcss/src/compat/plugin-api.ts
+++ b/packages/tailwindcss/src/compat/plugin-api.ts
@@ -203,10 +203,12 @@ export function buildPluginApi({
             } else if (variant.value.kind === 'named' && options?.values) {
               let defaultValue = options.values[variant.value.value]
               if (typeof defaultValue !== 'string') {
-                return
+                return null
               }
 
               ruleNodes.nodes = resolveVariantValue(defaultValue, variant.modifier, ruleNodes.nodes)
+            } else {
+              return null
             }
           })
         },