diff --git a/docs/CHANGELOG.md b/docs/CHANGELOG.md
index 301a6dc52..051231031 100644
--- a/docs/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/docs/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ created by v1.90.0 or newer versions. The solution is to upgrade to v1.90.0 or n
 * BUGFIX: return back query performance scalability on hosts with big number of CPU cores. The scalability has been reduced in [v1.86.0](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/CHANGELOG.html#v1860). See [this issue](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/3966).
 * BUGFIX: [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html): properly convert [VictoriaMetrics historgram buckets](https://valyala.medium.com/improving-histogram-usability-for-prometheus-and-grafana-bc7e5df0e350) to Prometheus histogram buckets when VictoriaMetrics histogram contain zero buckets. Previously these buckets were ignored, and this could lead to missing Prometheus histogram buckets after the conversion. Thanks to @zklapow for [the fix](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/pull/4021).
 * BUGFIX: properly support comma-separated filters inside [retention filters](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/#retention-filters). See [this issue](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/3915).
+* BUGFIX: verify response code when fetching configuration files via HTTP. See [this issue](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/4034).
 
 
 ## [v1.89.1](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/releases/tag/v1.89.1)
diff --git a/lib/fs/fs.go b/lib/fs/fs.go
index d438ddc90..7da255887 100644
--- a/lib/fs/fs.go
+++ b/lib/fs/fs.go
@@ -424,6 +424,11 @@ func ReadFileOrHTTP(path string) ([]byte, error) {
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot fetch %q: %w", path, err)
 		}
+
+		if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unexpected status code when fetching %q: %d, expecting %d", path, resp.StatusCode, http.StatusOK)
+		}
+
 		data, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
 		_ = resp.Body.Close()
 		if err != nil {