diff --git a/ci/release/changelogs/next.md b/ci/release/changelogs/next.md
index 843d8c331..1ede35ee1 100644
--- a/ci/release/changelogs/next.md
+++ b/ci/release/changelogs/next.md
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 - Compiler:
     - `link`s can be set to root path, e.g. `/xyz`. [#2357](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/issues/2357)
     - When importing a file, attempt resolving substitutions at the imported file scope first [#2482](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/2482)
+    - validate gradient color stops. [#2492](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/2492)
 - Parser:
     - impose max key length. It's almost certainly a mistake if an ID gets too long, e.g. missing quotes [#2465](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/2465)
 - Render:
diff --git a/d2compiler/compile_test.go b/d2compiler/compile_test.go
index 61123712b..8a3224aab 100644
--- a/d2compiler/compile_test.go
+++ b/d2compiler/compile_test.go
@@ -3956,6 +3956,14 @@ svc_1.t2 -> b: do with B
 				tassert.Equal(t, "d2/testdata/d2compiler/TestCompile/meow.d2", g.Layers[0].Layers[0].AST.Range.Path)
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			name: "invalid_gradient_color_stop",
+			text: `
+				x
+				x.style.fill: "linear-gradient(#ggg, #000)"
+			`,
+			expErr: `d2/testdata/d2compiler/TestCompile/invalid_gradient_color_stop.d2:3:19: expected "fill" to be a valid named color ("orange"), a hex code ("#f0ff3a"), or a gradient ("linear-gradient(red, blue)")`,
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range testCases {
diff --git a/lib/color/color.go b/lib/color/color.go
index 7417a2b9d..701cc0b3d 100644
--- a/lib/color/color.go
+++ b/lib/color/color.go
@@ -512,7 +512,18 @@ var NamedColors = []string{
 var ColorHexRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`^#(([0-9a-fA-F]{2}){3}|([0-9a-fA-F]){3})$`)
 
 func ValidColor(color string) bool {
-	if !go2.Contains(NamedColors, strings.ToLower(color)) && !ColorHexRegex.MatchString(color) && !IsGradient(color) {
+	if IsGradient(color) {
+		gradient, err := ParseGradient(color)
+		if err != nil {
+			return false
+		}
+		for _, colorStop := range gradient.ColorStops {
+			_, err = csscolorparser.Parse(colorStop.Color)
+			if err != nil {
+				return false
+			}
+		}
+	} else if !go2.Contains(NamedColors, strings.ToLower(color)) && !ColorHexRegex.MatchString(color) {
 		return false
 	}
 
diff --git a/testdata/d2compiler/TestCompile/invalid_gradient_color_stop.exp.json b/testdata/d2compiler/TestCompile/invalid_gradient_color_stop.exp.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..49f1fffea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/d2compiler/TestCompile/invalid_gradient_color_stop.exp.json
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+{
+  "graph": null,
+  "err": {
+    "errs": [
+      {
+        "range": "d2/testdata/d2compiler/TestCompile/invalid_gradient_color_stop.d2,2:18:25-2:47:54",
+        "errmsg": "d2/testdata/d2compiler/TestCompile/invalid_gradient_color_stop.d2:3:19: expected \"fill\" to be a valid named color (\"orange\"), a hex code (\"#f0ff3a\"), or a gradient (\"linear-gradient(red, blue)\")"
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}