diff --git a/defaults/defaults.go b/defaults/defaults.go
index 7edd0fafde..0782a1004e 100644
--- a/defaults/defaults.go
+++ b/defaults/defaults.go
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ const (
 	ConnectivityDNSTestServerImage   = "docker.io/coredns/coredns:1.10.0@sha256:017727efcfeb7d053af68e51436ce8e65edbc6ca573720afb4f79c8594036955"
 
 	ConfigMapName = "cilium-config"
-	Version       = "v1.12.5"
+	Version       = "v1.12.6"
 
 	StatusWaitDuration = 5 * time.Minute