diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index 7a2bac7b89..8edac6c277 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+<!--  Thanks for sending a pull request!  Here are some tips for you:
+1. Follow the instructions for writing a release note from k8s: https://git.k8s.io/community/contributors/guide/release-notes.md
+-->
+
+**What this PR does / why we need it**:
+
 **Reviewer Checklist**
 <!-- Check [Expectations from a PR](/CONTRIBUTING.md#expectations-from-a-pr) for the details -->
 
@@ -14,7 +20,15 @@
 - [ ] Uninstallation Scenario
 - [ ] Backward Compatibility
 - [ ] Troubleshooting Friendly
-  
+
+**Jira Ticket**:
+<!--  Write the link to the Jira ticket:
+If the task is not tracked by a Jira ticket, just write "NONE".
+-->
+```jira-ticket
+
+```
+
 **Release note**:
 <!--  Write your release note:
 1. Enter your extended release note in the below block. If the PR requires additional action from users switching to the new release, include the string "action required".
@@ -23,4 +37,3 @@
 ```release-note
 
 ```
-
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-push-images.yaml b/.github/workflows/build-push-images.yaml
index b8eaf572e5..4f9e86125a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-push-images.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-push-images.yaml
@@ -22,11 +22,11 @@ jobs:
       OPM_VERSION: v1.26.2
     steps:
       - name: Checkout the latest code
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
           ref: ${{ github.ref }}
       - name: Setup Go
-        uses: actions/setup-go@v2
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v3
         with:
           go-version: '1.19'
       - name: Get latest version
diff --git a/.github/workflows/dashboard-updater.yml b/.github/workflows/dashboard-updater.yml
index 245311e43d..6d0d7643c1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dashboard-updater.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dashboard-updater.yml
@@ -6,13 +6,13 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout this repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
           ref: main
           path: hco
 
       - name: Checkout monitoring repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
           repository: kubevirt/monitoring
           ref: main
diff --git a/.github/workflows/digester_bot.yml b/.github/workflows/digester_bot.yml
index 3f6abc100a..d5bdb21f89 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/digester_bot.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/digester_bot.yml
@@ -17,12 +17,12 @@ jobs:
             echo "NEW_PR=true" >> $GITHUB_ENV
           fi
 
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         if: ${{ env.NEW_PR }}
         with:
           ref: main
 
-      - uses: actions/setup-go@v2
+      - uses: actions/setup-go@v3
         if: ${{ env.NEW_PR }}
         with:
           go-version: '1.19' # The Go version to download (if necessary) and use.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/graphs-updater.yml b/.github/workflows/graphs-updater.yml
index b6caa6e4e9..94bed90c43 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/graphs-updater.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/graphs-updater.yml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout this repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
           ref: main
           path: hco
diff --git a/.github/workflows/override-bot.yaml b/.github/workflows/override-bot.yaml
index 3a292d66f3..9992ad0efc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/override-bot.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/override-bot.yaml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout the latest code
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
       - name: Setup Python3
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-sanity.yaml b/.github/workflows/pr-sanity.yaml
index 3a96bfb851..4aecca4abc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-sanity.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-sanity.yaml
@@ -22,21 +22,21 @@ jobs:
 
     # Steps represent a sequence of tasks that will be executed as part of the job
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
 
-      - uses: actions/setup-go@v2
+      - uses: actions/setup-go@v3
         with:
-         go-version: '1.19' # The Go version to download (if necessary) and use.
+          go-version: '1.19' # The Go version to download (if necessary) and use.
 
       - name: Do sanity checks
         run: make sanity
 
       - name: Run golangci-lint
-        uses: golangci/golangci-lint-action@v2.5.2
+        uses: golangci/golangci-lint-action@v3
         with:
-          skip-go-installation: true
+          version: v1.51.2
           skip-pkg-cache: true
-          args: --timeout=5m
+          args: --timeout=5m --out-${NO_FUTURE}format line-number
 
       - name: Verify we can actually build the operator
         run: make build
diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-community-operators.yaml b/.github/workflows/publish-community-operators.yaml
index 1416df3959..1929793aed 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-community-operators.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish-community-operators.yaml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ on:
       - v1.*
 jobs:
   publish_hco:
-    if: (github.repository == 'kubevirt/hyperconverged-cluster-operator')
+    if: (github.repository == 'kubevirt/hyperconverged-cluster-operator' && !contains(github.ref, 'unstable'))
     name: Publish HCO tagged version to community-operators
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
@@ -30,11 +30,11 @@ jobs:
           echo "TARGET_BRANCH=${TARGET_BRANCH}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
           echo "TAGGED_VERSION=${TAGGED_VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
       - name: Setup Go
-        uses: actions/setup-go@v2
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v3
         with:
           go-version: '1.19'
       - name: Checkout the latest code of ${{ env.TARGET_BRANCH }} branch
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
           ref: ${{ env.TARGET_BRANCH }}
           fetch-depth: 2
diff --git a/.github/workflows/rebase-bot.yml b/.github/workflows/rebase-bot.yml
index 5bf3b2cefb..78fb582dbc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/rebase-bot.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/rebase-bot.yml
@@ -9,13 +9,13 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout the latest code
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
           token: ${{ secrets.HCO_BOT_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: Setup Go
-        uses: actions/setup-go@v2
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v3
         with:
           go-version: '1.19'
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-bumper.yml b/.github/workflows/release-bumper.yml
index 65fa4219c6..96a04a0ff9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-bumper.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-bumper.yml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ jobs:
     outputs:
       matrix: ${{ steps.set_branches.outputs.matrix }}
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
           ref: main
           fetch-depth: 0
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ jobs:
       - id: set_branches
         run: |
           matrix=$(git for-each-ref --format='%(refname:short)' refs/remotes/origin | grep -e "origin/main" -e "origin/release-1.[0-9]\+$" | grep -v "release-1\.[0,1,2,3]$" | sed -r 's/origin\/(.*)/{"branch": "\1"}/g' | jq -s)
-          echo "::set-output name=matrix::{\"branches\":$(echo $matrix)}"
+          echo "matrix={\"branches\":$(echo $matrix)}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
   bump_components_version:
     name: Bump Components Versions
@@ -37,11 +37,11 @@ jobs:
       matrix: ${{fromJson(needs.set_bump_branches.outputs.matrix)}}
       fail-fast: false
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
           ref: ${{ matrix.branches.branch }}
 
-      - uses: actions/setup-go@v2
+      - uses: actions/setup-go@v3
         with:
           go-version: '1.19' # The Go version to download (if necessary) and use.
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 7a7c3c1f06..19599f1336 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ WEBHOOK_IMAGE      ?= $(REGISTRY_NAMESPACE)/hyperconverged-cluster-webhook
 FUNC_TEST_IMAGE    ?= $(REGISTRY_NAMESPACE)/hyperconverged-cluster-functest
 VIRT_ARTIFACTS_SERVER ?= $(REGISTRY_NAMESPACE)/virt-artifacts-server
 LDFLAGS            ?= -w -s
+GOLANDCI_LINT_VERSION ?= v1.51.2
 
 
 
@@ -36,10 +37,9 @@ goimport:
 
 
 lint:
+	go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@${GOLANDCI_LINT_VERSION}
 	golangci-lint run
-	go install github.com/nunnatsa/ginkgolinter/cmd/ginkgolinter@latest
-	ginkgolinter ./...
-	(cd tests && ginkgolinter ./...)
+	(cd tests && golangci-lint run)
 
 build: build-operator build-csv-merger build-webhook
 
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ container-build-validate-bundles:
 	podman build -f tools/operator-sdk-validate/Dockerfile -t operator-sdk-validate-hco .
 
 container-build-functest:
-	podman build -f build/Dockerfile.functest -t $(IMAGE_REGISTRY)/$(FUNC_TEST_IMAGE):$(IMAGE_TAG) --build-arg git_sha=$(SHA) .
+	. "hack/cri-bin.sh" && $$CRI_BIN build -f build/Dockerfile.functest -t $(IMAGE_REGISTRY)/$(FUNC_TEST_IMAGE):$(IMAGE_TAG) --build-arg git_sha=$(SHA) .
 
 container-build-artifacts-server:
 	podman build -f build/Dockerfile.artifacts -t $(IMAGE_REGISTRY)/$(VIRT_ARTIFACTS_SERVER):$(IMAGE_TAG) --build-arg git_sha=$(SHA) .
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ container-push-webhook:
 	. "hack/cri-bin.sh" && $$CRI_BIN push $$CRI_INSECURE $(IMAGE_REGISTRY)/$(WEBHOOK_IMAGE):$(IMAGE_TAG)
 
 container-push-functest:
-	podman push $(IMAGE_REGISTRY)/$(FUNC_TEST_IMAGE):$(IMAGE_TAG)
+	. "hack/cri-bin.sh" && $$CRI_BIN push $$CRI_INSECURE $(IMAGE_REGISTRY)/$(FUNC_TEST_IMAGE):$(IMAGE_TAG)
 
 container-push-artifacts-server:
 	podman push $(IMAGE_REGISTRY)/$(VIRT_ARTIFACTS_SERVER):$(IMAGE_TAG)
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ cluster-down:
 	./cluster/down.sh
 
 cluster-sync:
-	./cluster/sync.sh
+	IMAGE_REGISTRY=$(IMAGE_REGISTRY) REGISTRY_NAMESPACE=$(REGISTRY_NAMESPACE) ./cluster/sync.sh
 
 cluster-clean:
 	CMD="./cluster/kubectl.sh" ./hack/clean.sh
diff --git a/cluster/kubevirtci.sh b/cluster/kubevirtci.sh
index ba7ccef6b3..54fbdff824 100644
--- a/cluster/kubevirtci.sh
+++ b/cluster/kubevirtci.sh
@@ -12,11 +12,39 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-export KUBEVIRT_PROVIDER=${KUBEVIRT_PROVIDER:-'k8s-1.23'}
-export KUBEVIRTCI_TAG=$(curl -L -Ss https://storage.googleapis.com/kubevirt-prow/release/kubevirt/kubevirtci/latest)
+export KUBEVIRT_PROVIDER=${KUBEVIRT_PROVIDER:-'k8s-1.24'}
+######
+# workaround for https://github.com/kubevirt/kubevirt/issues/9434
+# we started setting SELinux boolean for chardev access
+# with https://github.com/kubevirt/kubevirtci/pull/968
+# but it got reverted with https://github.com/kubevirt/kubevirtci/pull/975
+# altough it's still needed with Kubevirt v0.58.1
+# TODO: let's remove this once https://github.com/kubevirt/kubevirt/issues/9434
+# is fixed
+#
+# export KUBEVIRTCI_TAG=$(curl -L -Ss https://storage.googleapis.com/kubevirt-prow/release/kubevirt/kubevirtci/latest)
+export KUBEVIRTCI_TAG=2302221824-e1cf770
+######
+
 KUBEVIRTCI_PATH="${PWD}/_kubevirtci"
+KUBEVIRTCI_REPO='https://github.com/kubevirt/kubevirtci.git'
+
+function cluster::_get_repo() {
+    git --git-dir ${KUBEVIRTCI_PATH}/.git remote get-url origin
+}
+
+function cluster::_get_tag() {
+    git -C ${KUBEVIRTCI_PATH} describe --tags
+}
 
 function kubevirtci::install() {
+    # Remove cloned kubevirtci repository if it does not match the requested one
+    if [ -d ${KUBEVIRTCI_PATH} ]; then
+        if [ $(cluster::_get_repo) != ${KUBEVIRTCI_REPO} ] || [ $(cluster::_get_tag) != ${KUBEVIRTCI_TAG} ]; then
+            rm -rf ${KUBEVIRTCI_PATH}
+        fi
+    fi
+
     if [ ! -d ${KUBEVIRTCI_PATH} ]; then
         git clone https://github.com/kubevirt/kubevirtci.git ${KUBEVIRTCI_PATH}
         (
diff --git a/cluster/sync.sh b/cluster/sync.sh
index c5ca647a8a..c7d5ac1518 100755
--- a/cluster/sync.sh
+++ b/cluster/sync.sh
@@ -1,15 +1,13 @@
 #!/bin/bash -ex
 
 source ./hack/common.sh
+source ./_kubevirtci/cluster-up/cluster/ephemeral-provider-common.sh
 
-container_command=podman
-
-registry_port=$(${container_command} ps | grep -Po '(?<=0.0.0.0:)\d+(?=->5000\/tcp)' || echo "")
-
+registry_port=$(${_cri_bin} ps | grep -Po '(?<=0.0.0.0:)\d+(?=->5000\/tcp)' | head -n 1)
 if [ -z "$registry_port" ]
 then
-      container_command=docker
-      registry_port=$(${container_command} ps | grep -Po '(?<=0.0.0.0:)\d+(?=->5000\/tcp)')
+      >&2 echo "unable to get the registry port"
+      exit 1
 fi
 
 registry=localhost:$registry_port
@@ -42,7 +40,7 @@ else
     pull_command="docker"
 fi
 
-${container_command} ps -a
+${_cri_bin} ps -a
 
 for node in ${nodes[@]}; do
     ./cluster/ssh.sh ${node} "echo registry:5000/kubevirt/hyperconverged-cluster-operator | xargs \-\-max-args=1 sudo ${pull_command} pull"