diff --git a/.github/workflows/unit-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/unit-tests.yml
index a939bbfc5ae8..0ad7071095d9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/unit-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/unit-tests.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Generate cache key
         env:
           MOD_SELECTOR: "${{ inputs.module-selector }}"
-        run: echo "MOD_SELECTOR=\"${MOD_SELECTOR// /}\"" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        run: echo "MOD_SELECTOR=$(echo $MOD_SELECTOR | sed 's/[^a-zA-Z0-9_.-]/-/g')" >> $GITHUB_ENV
       - uses: actions/cache@0c45773b623bea8c8e75f6c82b208c3cf94ea4f9 # v4.0.2
         with:
           key: ${{ hashFiles('**/pom.xml') }}-unit-tests-${{ inputs.scala-version }}-${{ env.MOD_SELECTOR }}