diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 49fff091e19f..ee29c84515b1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ### Fixed
 
 - Remove invalid `min-w/h-none` utilities ([#15845](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/15845))
+- Ensure CSS variable shorthand uses valid CSS variables ([#15738](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/15738))
 
 ## [4.0.0] - 2025-01-21
 
diff --git a/packages/tailwindcss/src/candidate.test.ts b/packages/tailwindcss/src/candidate.test.ts
index 723ae0fc8e08..20f89a940d3c 100644
--- a/packages/tailwindcss/src/candidate.test.ts
+++ b/packages/tailwindcss/src/candidate.test.ts
@@ -570,6 +570,13 @@ it('should parse a utility with an arbitrary value with parens', () => {
   `)
 })
 
+it('should not parse a utility with an arbitrary value with parens that does not start with --', () => {
+  let utilities = new Utilities()
+  utilities.functional('bg', () => [])
+
+  expect(run('bg-(my-color)', { utilities })).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`[]`)
+})
+
 it('should parse a utility with an arbitrary value including a typehint', () => {
   let utilities = new Utilities()
   utilities.functional('bg', () => [])
@@ -616,6 +623,13 @@ it('should parse a utility with an arbitrary value with parens including a typeh
   `)
 })
 
+it('should not parse a utility with an arbitrary value with parens including a typehint that does not start with --', () => {
+  let utilities = new Utilities()
+  utilities.functional('bg', () => [])
+
+  expect(run('bg-(color:my-color)', { utilities })).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`[]`)
+})
+
 it('should parse a utility with an arbitrary value with parens and a fallback', () => {
   let utilities = new Utilities()
   utilities.functional('bg', () => [])
@@ -888,6 +902,8 @@ it('should not parse invalid arbitrary values in variants', () => {
 
     'data-foo-(--value)/(number:--mod):flex',
     'data-foo(--value)/(number:--mod):flex',
+
+    'data-(value):flex',
   ]) {
     expect(run(candidate, { utilities, variants })).toEqual([])
   }
@@ -945,6 +961,13 @@ it('should parse a utility with an implicit variable as the modifier using the s
   `)
 })
 
+it('should not parse a utility with an implicit invalid variable as the modifier using the shorthand', () => {
+  let utilities = new Utilities()
+  utilities.functional('bg', () => [])
+
+  expect(run('bg-red-500/(value)', { utilities })).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`[]`)
+})
+
 it('should parse a utility with an implicit variable as the modifier that is important', () => {
   let utilities = new Utilities()
   utilities.functional('bg', () => [])
diff --git a/packages/tailwindcss/src/candidate.ts b/packages/tailwindcss/src/candidate.ts
index abb230da005d..8238dfc2f0e9 100644
--- a/packages/tailwindcss/src/candidate.ts
+++ b/packages/tailwindcss/src/candidate.ts
@@ -517,6 +517,9 @@ function parseModifier(modifier: string): CandidateModifier | null {
     //                                                 ^^
     if (arbitraryValue.length === 0 || arbitraryValue.trim().length === 0) return null
 
+    // Arbitrary values must start with `--` since it represents a CSS variable.
+    if (arbitraryValue[0] !== '-' && arbitraryValue[1] !== '-') return null
+
     return {
       kind: 'arbitrary',
       value: `var(${arbitraryValue})`,
@@ -651,6 +654,9 @@ export function parseVariant(variant: string, designSystem: DesignSystem): Varia
             //                                                 ^^
             if (arbitraryValue.length === 0 || arbitraryValue.trim().length === 0) return null
 
+            // Arbitrary values must start with `--` since it represents a CSS variable.
+            if (arbitraryValue[0] !== '-' && arbitraryValue[1] !== '-') return null
+
             return {
               kind: 'functional',
               root,