diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 6c772f401a9..b84feaaab63 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -828,9 +828,16 @@ fmt-check-json:
 		exit 1; \
 	fi
 
+# Validate CJS module syntax by running `node --check` on every non-test .cjs file.
+# This catches module-load SyntaxErrors (e.g. `await` inside a non-async function)
+# before any workflow runs, closing the gap that caused the PR #43170 regression.
+.PHONY: validate-cjs-syntax
+validate-cjs-syntax:
+	@bash scripts/validate-cjs-syntax.sh
+
 # Lint JavaScript (.cjs and .js) and JSON files in actions/setup/js directory
 .PHONY: lint-cjs
-lint-cjs: fmt-check-cjs
+lint-cjs: fmt-check-cjs validate-cjs-syntax
 	@echo "✓ JavaScript formatting validated"
 
 # Lint JSON files in pkg directory (excluding actions/setup/js, which is handled by npm script)
@@ -1135,6 +1142,7 @@ help:
 	@echo "  fmt-check-cjs    - Check JavaScript/TypeScript/JSON formatting in actions/setup/js and eslint-factory"
 	@echo "  fmt-check-json   - Check JSON file formatting in pkg directory (excluding actions/setup/js)"
 	@echo "  lint-cjs         - Lint JavaScript/TypeScript/JSON formatting in actions/setup/js and eslint-factory"
+	@echo "  validate-cjs-syntax - Syntax-check all non-test .cjs files (catches module-load SyntaxErrors)"
 	@echo "  lint-json        - Lint JSON files in pkg directory (excluding actions/setup/js)"
 	@echo "  lint-errors      - Lint error messages for quality compliance"
 	@echo "  validate-otel-contract - Validate the gh-aw OpenTelemetry compatibility contract"
diff --git a/scripts/validate-cjs-syntax.sh b/scripts/validate-cjs-syntax.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..f3d5ba49e54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/validate-cjs-syntax.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set +o histexpand
+
+# validate-cjs-syntax.sh — Catch module-load SyntaxErrors in all runtime .cjs files
+#
+# Runs `node --check` on every non-test .cjs file under actions/setup/js/ so that
+# mistakes such as `await` inside a non-async function (PR #43170 regression) are
+# caught in CI before any workflow runs.
+#
+# `node --check` parses the file and reports SyntaxErrors without executing the
+# module, so no @actions/core or other runtime dependency is needed.
+#
+# Exit codes:
+#   0 - All files parsed cleanly
+#   1 - One or more files contain a SyntaxError (or failed to parse)
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Disable colors when not connected to a TTY, when NO_COLOR is set, or when
+# TERM=dumb — keeps output readable in CI step summaries.
+if [ -t 1 ] && [ -z "${NO_COLOR:-}" ] && [ "${TERM:-}" != "dumb" ]; then
+    RED='\033[0;31m'
+    GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+    NC='\033[0m'
+else
+    RED=''
+    GREEN=''
+    NC=''
+fi
+
+failure_count=0
+checked_count=0
+
+echo "Checking .cjs files for module-load SyntaxErrors (node --check)..."
+echo ""
+
+# Find all non-test .cjs files under actions/setup/js/, excluding node_modules.
+while IFS= read -r file; do
+    checked_count=$((checked_count + 1))
+    if ! output=$(node --check "$file" 2>&1); then
+        echo -e "${RED}SYNTAX ERROR${NC}: $file"
+        while IFS= read -r line; do
+            echo "  $line"
+        done <<< "$output"
+        echo ""
+        failure_count=$((failure_count + 1))
+    fi
+done < <(find actions/setup/js -name "*.cjs" -not -name "*.test.cjs" -not -path "*/node_modules/*" -type f | sort)
+
+echo "------------------------------------------------------------"
+
+if [ "$failure_count" -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo -e "${GREEN}All $checked_count .cjs files parsed cleanly${NC}"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+echo -e "${RED}$failure_count of $checked_count .cjs file(s) failed syntax check${NC}"
+echo ""
+echo "Fix the SyntaxErrors above before proceeding."
+echo "Common cause: 'await' used outside an async function (e.g. in a sync helper"
+echo "that was auto-fixed by the ESLint require-await-core-summary-write rule)."
+exit 1