diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index f0cc493ca..ff6ae630a 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/go-vela/types v0.7.4
 	github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.4
 	github.com/google/go-github/v29 v29.0.3
+	github.com/google/go-github/v33 v33.0.0
 	github.com/google/gofuzz v1.2.0 // indirect
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.2.0
 	github.com/hashicorp/go-hclog v0.10.0 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index c9fe89c5a..39627997f 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -233,6 +233,8 @@ github.com/google/go-github/v24 v24.0.1 h1:KCt1LjMJEey1qvPXxa9SjaWxwTsCWSq6p2Ju5
 github.com/google/go-github/v24 v24.0.1/go.mod h1:CRqaW1Uns1TCkP0wqTpxYyRxRjxwvKU/XSS44u6X74M=
 github.com/google/go-github/v29 v29.0.3 h1:IktKCTwU//aFHnpA+2SLIi7Oo9uhAzgsdZNbcAqhgdc=
 github.com/google/go-github/v29 v29.0.3/go.mod h1:CHKiKKPHJ0REzfwc14QMklvtHwCveD0PxlMjLlzAM5E=
+github.com/google/go-github/v33 v33.0.0 h1:qAf9yP0qc54ufQxzwv+u9H0tiVOnPJxo0lI/JXqw3ZM=
+github.com/google/go-github/v33 v33.0.0/go.mod h1:GMdDnVZY/2TsWgp/lkYnpSAh6TrzhANBBwm6k6TTEXg=
 github.com/google/go-querystring v1.0.0 h1:Xkwi/a1rcvNg1PPYe5vI8GbeBY/jrVuDX5ASuANWTrk=
 github.com/google/go-querystring v1.0.0/go.mod h1:odCYkC5MyYFN7vkCjXpyrEuKhc/BUO6wN/zVPAxq5ck=
 github.com/google/gofuzz v0.0.0-20161122191042-44d81051d367/go.mod h1:HP5RmnzzSNb993RKQDq4+1A4ia9nllfqcQFTQJedwGI=
diff --git a/source/github/authentication.go b/source/github/authentication.go
index 6d964e3af..66a4fb59c 100644
--- a/source/github/authentication.go
+++ b/source/github/authentication.go
@@ -9,10 +9,12 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
+	"net/url"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/go-vela/server/random"
-
 	"github.com/go-vela/types/library"
+	"github.com/google/go-github/v33/github"
 
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
@@ -110,6 +112,49 @@ func (c *client) AuthenticateToken(r *http.Request) (*library.User, error) {
 		return nil, errors.New("no token provided")
 	}
 
+	// create http client to connect to GitHub
+	//
+	// nolint: lll // ignore long line length due to variable names
+	transport := github.BasicAuthTransport{Username: c.OConfig.ClientID, Password: c.OConfig.ClientSecret}
+	// create client to connect to GitHub API
+	client := github.NewClient(transport.Client())
+	// check if github url was set
+	if c.URL != "" && c.URL != "https://github.com" {
+		// check if address has trailing slash
+		if !strings.HasSuffix(c.URL, "/") {
+			// add trailing slash
+			c.URL = c.URL + "/api/v3/"
+		}
+		// parse the provided url into url type
+		enterpriseURL, err := url.Parse(c.URL)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		// set the base and upload url
+		client.BaseURL = enterpriseURL
+		client.UploadURL = enterpriseURL
+	}
+	// check if the provided token was created by Vela
+	_, resp, err := client.Authorizations.Check(context.Background(), c.OConfig.ClientID, token)
+	// check if the error is of type ErrorResponse
+	if gerr, ok := err.(*github.ErrorResponse); ok {
+		// check the status code
+		switch gerr.Response.StatusCode {
+		// 404 is expected when non vela token is used
+		case http.StatusNotFound:
+			break
+		default:
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	} else if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// return error if the token was created by Vela
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusNotFound {
+		return nil, errors.New("token must not be created by vela")
+	}
+
 	u, err := c.Authorize(token)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
diff --git a/source/github/authentication_test.go b/source/github/authentication_test.go
index e79906faf..438832e58 100644
--- a/source/github/authentication_test.go
+++ b/source/github/authentication_test.go
@@ -384,6 +384,42 @@ func TestGithub_Authenticate_Invalid_Token(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestGithub_Authenticate_Vela_Token(t *testing.T) {
+	// setup context
+	gin.SetMode(gin.TestMode)
+
+	resp := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	context, engine := gin.CreateTestContext(resp)
+	context.Request, _ = http.NewRequest(http.MethodPost, "/authenticate/token", nil)
+	context.Request.Header.Set("Token", "vela")
+
+	engine.GET("/api/v3/user", func(c *gin.Context) {
+		c.Header("Content-Type", "application/json")
+		c.Status(http.StatusOK)
+		c.File("testdata/user.json")
+	})
+
+	engine.POST("/api/v3/applications/foo/token", func(c *gin.Context) {
+		c.Header("Content-Type", "application/json")
+		c.Status(http.StatusOK)
+	})
+
+	s := httptest.NewServer(engine)
+	defer s.Close()
+
+	client, _ := NewTest(s.URL)
+
+	// run test
+	_, err := client.AuthenticateToken(context.Request)
+	if resp.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Errorf("Authenticate returned %v, want %v", resp.Code, http.StatusOK)
+	}
+
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Error("Authenticate should have returned err")
+	}
+}
+
 func TestGithub_LoginWCreds(t *testing.T) {
 	// setup context
 	gin.SetMode(gin.TestMode)