diff --git a/.yarn/versions/ad9ce922.yml b/.yarn/versions/ad9ce922.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..b8af1f116800
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.yarn/versions/ad9ce922.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+releases:
+  "@yarnpkg/cli": minor
+  "@yarnpkg/plugin-npm": minor
+
+declined:
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-compat"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-constraints"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-dlx"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-essentials"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-init"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-interactive-tools"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-nm"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-npm-cli"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-pack"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-patch"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-pnp"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-pnpm"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-stage"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-typescript"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-version"
+  - "@yarnpkg/plugin-workspace-tools"
+  - "@yarnpkg/builder"
+  - "@yarnpkg/core"
+  - "@yarnpkg/doctor"
diff --git a/packages/acceptance-tests/pkg-tests-core/sources/utils/makeTemporaryEnv.ts b/packages/acceptance-tests/pkg-tests-core/sources/utils/makeTemporaryEnv.ts
index f7acc8cd7e34..358abe9d2a7c 100644
--- a/packages/acceptance-tests/pkg-tests-core/sources/utils/makeTemporaryEnv.ts
+++ b/packages/acceptance-tests/pkg-tests-core/sources/utils/makeTemporaryEnv.ts
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ const mte = generatePkgDriver({
         [`YARN_ENABLE_INLINE_BUILDS`]: `false`,
         // Otherwise we would more often test the fallback rather than the real logic
         [`YARN_PNP_FALLBACK_MODE`]: `none`,
+        // Disable the age gate by default; tests that specifically test it override this via subDefinition
+        [`YARN_NPM_MINIMAL_AGE_GATE`]: `0`,
         // Otherwise tests fail on systems where this is globally set to true
         [`YARN_ENABLE_GLOBAL_CACHE`]: `false`,
         // To make sure we can call Git commands
diff --git a/packages/acceptance-tests/pkg-tests-specs/sources/commands/set/version.test.ts b/packages/acceptance-tests/pkg-tests-specs/sources/commands/set/version.test.ts
index 19b5ba42ee92..8b37a80b6365 100644
--- a/packages/acceptance-tests/pkg-tests-specs/sources/commands/set/version.test.ts
+++ b/packages/acceptance-tests/pkg-tests-specs/sources/commands/set/version.test.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ describe(`Commands`, () => {
           COREPACK_ROOT: `/path/to/corepack`,
           YARN_IS_TEST_ENV: undefined,
           YARN_CACHE_VERSION_OVERRIDE: undefined,
+          // Old yarn versions don't support this setting; unset to avoid "Unrecognized configuration" errors
+          YARN_NPM_MINIMAL_AGE_GATE: undefined,
         },
       }, async ({path, run, source}) => {
         // To force yarnPath to be set; followed by a sanity check
diff --git a/packages/plugin-npm/sources/index.ts b/packages/plugin-npm/sources/index.ts
index a783cdd74fec..d825b53ecc31 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-npm/sources/index.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-npm/sources/index.ts
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ const packageGateSettings = {
     description: `Minimum age of a package version according to the publish date on the npm registry to be considered for installation`,
     type: SettingsType.DURATION,
     unit: DurationUnit.MINUTES,
-    default: `0m`,
+    default: `4320m`,
   },
   npmPreapprovedPackages: {
     description: `Array of package descriptors or package name glob patterns to exclude from the minimum release age check`,
diff --git a/packages/plugin-npm/sources/npmConfigUtils.ts b/packages/plugin-npm/sources/npmConfigUtils.ts
index 5fc4ccb50ba2..3073c9145c25 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-npm/sources/npmConfigUtils.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-npm/sources/npmConfigUtils.ts
@@ -100,7 +100,10 @@ function shouldBeQuarantined({configuration, version, publishTimes}: IsPackageAp
   const minimalAgeGate = configuration.get(`npmMinimalAgeGate`);
 
   if (minimalAgeGate) {
-    const versionTime = publishTimes?.[version];
+    if (typeof publishTimes === `undefined`)
+      return false;
+
+    const versionTime = publishTimes[version];
     if (typeof versionTime === `undefined`)
       return true;