diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 83f4791..e061121 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,25 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.4.0] - 2026-01-24
+
+### Added
+
+- Self-licensing prevention: Plugin automatically bypasses license validation when the configured license server URL points to the same WordPress installation
+- New `isSelfLicensing()` method in `PluginLicenseChecker` to detect circular licensing scenarios
+- New `normalizeDomain()` helper method for domain comparison (strips www prefix, lowercases)
+
+### Changed
+
+- `isLicenseValid()` and `validateLicense()` now check for self-licensing before attempting validation
+- Cache clearing now also clears the self-licensing check cache
+
+### Technical Details
+
+- Self-licensing detection compares normalized domains of license server URL and current site URL
+- Prevents circular dependency where plugin would try to validate against itself
+- Plugins can only be validated against the original store from which they were obtained
+
 ## [0.3.9] - 2026-01-24
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/wc-licensed-product.php b/wc-licensed-product.php
index 193a517..ac45a3c 100644
--- a/wc-licensed-product.php
+++ b/wc-licensed-product.php
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  * Plugin Name: WooCommerce Licensed Product
  * Plugin URI: https://src.bundespruefstelle.ch/magdev/wc-licensed-product
  * Description: WooCommerce plugin to sell software products using license keys with domain-based validation.
- * Version: 0.3.9
+ * Version: 0.4.0
  * Author: Marco Graetsch
  * Author URI: https://src.bundespruefstelle.ch/magdev
  * License: GPL-2.0-or-later
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ if (!defined('ABSPATH')) {
 }
 
 // Plugin constants
-define('WC_LICENSED_PRODUCT_VERSION', '0.3.9');
+define('WC_LICENSED_PRODUCT_VERSION', '0.4.0');
 define('WC_LICENSED_PRODUCT_PLUGIN_FILE', __FILE__);
 define('WC_LICENSED_PRODUCT_PLUGIN_DIR', plugin_dir_path(__FILE__));
 define('WC_LICENSED_PRODUCT_PLUGIN_URL', plugin_dir_url(__FILE__));