diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 0ee34c69b9f..48f0cbe4b29 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ create-management-cluster: $(KUSTOMIZE) $(ENVSUBST) $(KUBECTL) $(KIND) ## Create
 	./hack/create-custom-cloud-provider-config.sh
 
 	# Deploy CAPI
-	timeout --foreground 300 bash -c "until curl --retry $(CURL_RETRIES) -sSL https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.8.5/cluster-api-components.yaml | $(ENVSUBST) | $(KUBECTL) apply -f -; do sleep 5; done"
+	timeout --foreground 300 bash -c "until curl --retry $(CURL_RETRIES) -sSL https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.8.8/cluster-api-components.yaml | $(ENVSUBST) | $(KUBECTL) apply -f -; do sleep 5; done"
 
 	# Deploy CAAPH
 	timeout --foreground 300 bash -c "until curl --retry $(CURL_RETRIES) -sSL https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api-addon-provider-helm/releases/download/v0.2.5/addon-components.yaml | $(ENVSUBST) | $(KUBECTL) apply -f -; do sleep 5; done"
diff --git a/Tiltfile b/Tiltfile
index 2d2e3d30c4f..98c72b0f2b2 100644
--- a/Tiltfile
+++ b/Tiltfile
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ settings = {
     "deploy_cert_manager": True,
     "preload_images_for_kind": True,
     "kind_cluster_name": "capz",
-    "capi_version": "v1.8.5",
+    "capi_version": "v1.8.8",
     "caaph_version": "v0.2.5",
     "cert_manager_version": "v1.16.1",
     "kubernetes_version": "v1.28.3",
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index e936ea69f24..2b66b52fa21 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -40,10 +40,10 @@ require (
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/metric v1.27.0
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.27.0
 	go.uber.org/mock v0.4.0
-	golang.org/x/crypto v0.27.0
+	golang.org/x/crypto v0.31.0
 	golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20240719175910-8a7402abbf56
 	golang.org/x/mod v0.21.0
-	golang.org/x/text v0.18.0
+	golang.org/x/text v0.21.0
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1
 	k8s.io/api v0.30.3
 	k8s.io/apimachinery v0.30.3
@@ -54,9 +54,9 @@ require (
 	k8s.io/kubectl v0.30.3
 	k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20240502163921-fe8a2dddb1d0
 	sigs.k8s.io/cloud-provider-azure v1.30.4
-	sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api v1.8.5
-	sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api/test v1.8.5
-	sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.18.5
+	sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api v1.8.8
+	sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api/test v1.8.8
+	sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.18.6
 	sigs.k8s.io/kind v0.24.0
 )
 
@@ -192,11 +192,11 @@ require (
 	go.opentelemetry.io/proto/otlp v1.3.1 // indirect
 	go.starlark.net v0.0.0-20230525235612-a134d8f9ddca // indirect
 	go.uber.org/multierr v1.11.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/net v0.28.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/net v0.33.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.21.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/sync v0.8.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.25.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/term v0.24.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/sync v0.10.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.28.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/term v0.27.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/time v0.5.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/tools v0.24.0 // indirect
 	gomodules.xyz/jsonpatch/v2 v2.4.0 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 770f482fc77..61903c9924c 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -162,8 +162,8 @@ github.com/containerd/log v0.1.0 h1:TCJt7ioM2cr/tfR8GPbGf9/VRAX8D2B4PjzCpfX540I=
 github.com/containerd/log v0.1.0/go.mod h1:VRRf09a7mHDIRezVKTRCrOq78v577GXq3bSa3EhrzVo=
 github.com/coredns/caddy v1.1.1 h1:2eYKZT7i6yxIfGP3qLJoJ7HAsDJqYB+X68g4NYjSrE0=
 github.com/coredns/caddy v1.1.1/go.mod h1:A6ntJQlAWuQfFlsd9hvigKbo2WS0VUs2l1e2F+BawD4=
-github.com/coredns/corefile-migration v1.0.23 h1:Fp4FETmk8sT/IRgnKX2xstC2dL7+QdcU+BL5AYIN3Jw=
-github.com/coredns/corefile-migration v1.0.23/go.mod h1:8HyMhuyzx9RLZp8cRc9Uf3ECpEAafHOFxQWUPqktMQI=
+github.com/coredns/corefile-migration v1.0.24 h1:NL/zRKijhJZLYlNnMr891DRv5jXgfd3Noons1M6oTpc=
+github.com/coredns/corefile-migration v1.0.24/go.mod h1:56DPqONc3njpVPsdilEnfijCwNGC3/kTJLl7i7SPavY=
 github.com/coreos/go-semver v0.3.1 h1:yi21YpKnrx1gt5R+la8n5WgS0kCrsPp33dmEyHReZr4=
 github.com/coreos/go-semver v0.3.1/go.mod h1:irMmmIw/7yzSRPWryHsK7EYSg09caPQL03VsM8rvUec=
 github.com/coreos/go-systemd v0.0.0-20191104093116-d3cd4ed1dbcf h1:iW4rZ826su+pqaw19uhpSCzhj44qo35pNgKFGqzDKkU=
@@ -538,8 +538,8 @@ golang.org/x/crypto v0.1.0/go.mod h1:RecgLatLF4+eUMCP1PoPZQb+cVrJcOPbHkTkbkB9sbw
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.3.0/go.mod h1:hebNnKkNXi2UzZN1eVRvBB7co0a+JxK6XbPiWVs/3J4=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.6.0/go.mod h1:OFC/31mSvZgRz0V1QTNCzfAI1aIRzbiufJtkMIlEp58=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.17.0/go.mod h1:gCAAfMLgwOJRpTjQ2zCCt2OcSfYMTeZVSRtQlPC7Nq4=
-golang.org/x/crypto v0.27.0 h1:GXm2NjJrPaiv/h1tb2UH8QfgC/hOf/+z0p6PT8o1w7A=
-golang.org/x/crypto v0.27.0/go.mod h1:1Xngt8kV6Dvbssa53Ziq6Eqn0HqbZi5Z6R0ZpwQzt70=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.31.0 h1:ihbySMvVjLAeSH1IbfcRTkD/iNscyz8rGzjF/E5hV6U=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.31.0/go.mod h1:kDsLvtWBEx7MV9tJOj9bnXsPbxwJQ6csT/x4KIN4Ssk=
 golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20190121172915-509febef88a4/go.mod h1:CJ0aWSM057203Lf6IL+f9T1iT9GByDxfZKAQTCR3kQA=
 golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20240719175910-8a7402abbf56 h1:2dVuKD2vS7b0QIHQbpyTISPd0LeHDbnYEryqj5Q1ug8=
 golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20240719175910-8a7402abbf56/go.mod h1:M4RDyNAINzryxdtnbRXRL/OHtkFuWGRjvuhBJpk2IlY=
@@ -567,8 +567,8 @@ golang.org/x/net v0.1.0/go.mod h1:Cx3nUiGt4eDBEyega/BKRp+/AlGL8hYe7U9odMt2Cco=
 golang.org/x/net v0.2.0/go.mod h1:KqCZLdyyvdV855qA2rE3GC2aiw5xGR5TEjj8smXukLY=
 golang.org/x/net v0.6.0/go.mod h1:2Tu9+aMcznHK/AK1HMvgo6xiTLG5rD5rZLDS+rp2Bjs=
 golang.org/x/net v0.10.0/go.mod h1:0qNGK6F8kojg2nk9dLZ2mShWaEBan6FAoqfSigmmuDg=
-golang.org/x/net v0.28.0 h1:a9JDOJc5GMUJ0+UDqmLT86WiEy7iWyIhz8gz8E4e5hE=
-golang.org/x/net v0.28.0/go.mod h1:yqtgsTWOOnlGLG9GFRrK3++bGOUEkNBoHZc8MEDWPNg=
+golang.org/x/net v0.33.0 h1:74SYHlV8BIgHIFC/LrYkOGIwL19eTYXQ5wc6TBuO36I=
+golang.org/x/net v0.33.0/go.mod h1:HXLR5J+9DxmrqMwG9qjGCxZ+zKXxBru04zlTvWlWuN4=
 golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.0.0-20180821212333-d2e6202438be/go.mod h1:N/0e6XlmueqKjAGxoOufVs8QHGRruUQn6yWY3a++T0U=
 golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.21.0 h1:tsimM75w1tF/uws5rbeHzIWxEqElMehnc+iW793zsZs=
 golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.21.0/go.mod h1:XYTD2NtWslqkgxebSiOHnXEap4TF09sJSc7H1sXbhtI=
@@ -579,8 +579,8 @@ golang.org/x/sync v0.0.0-20190911185100-cd5d95a43a6e/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJ
 golang.org/x/sync v0.0.0-20201020160332-67f06af15bc9/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.0.0-20220722155255-886fb9371eb4/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.1.0/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
-golang.org/x/sync v0.8.0 h1:3NFvSEYkUoMifnESzZl15y791HH1qU2xm6eCJU5ZPXQ=
-golang.org/x/sync v0.8.0/go.mod h1:Czt+wKu1gCyEFDUtn0jG5QVvpJ6rzVqr5aXyt9drQfk=
+golang.org/x/sync v0.10.0 h1:3NQrjDixjgGwUOCaF8w2+VYHv0Ve/vGYSbdkTa98gmQ=
+golang.org/x/sync v0.10.0/go.mod h1:Czt+wKu1gCyEFDUtn0jG5QVvpJ6rzVqr5aXyt9drQfk=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20180830151530-49385e6e1522/go.mod h1:STP8DvDyc/dI5b8T5hshtkjS+E42TnysNCUPdjciGhY=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20190215142949-d0b11bdaac8a/go.mod h1:STP8DvDyc/dI5b8T5hshtkjS+E42TnysNCUPdjciGhY=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20190412213103-97732733099d/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
@@ -599,8 +599,8 @@ golang.org/x/sys v0.5.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.6.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.8.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.15.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.25.0 h1:r+8e+loiHxRqhXVl6ML1nO3l1+oFoWbnlu2Ehimmi34=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.25.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.28.0 h1:Fksou7UEQUWlKvIdsqzJmUmCX3cZuD2+P3XyyzwMhlA=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.28.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20201126162022-7de9c90e9dd1/go.mod h1:bj7SfCRtBDWHUb9snDiAeCFNEtKQo2Wmx5Cou7ajbmo=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20210927222741-03fcf44c2211/go.mod h1:jbD1KX2456YbFQfuXm/mYQcufACuNUgVhRMnK/tPxf8=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20220526004731-065cf7ba2467/go.mod h1:jbD1KX2456YbFQfuXm/mYQcufACuNUgVhRMnK/tPxf8=
@@ -609,8 +609,8 @@ golang.org/x/term v0.2.0/go.mod h1:TVmDHMZPmdnySmBfhjOoOdhjzdE1h4u1VwSiw2l1Nuc=
 golang.org/x/term v0.5.0/go.mod h1:jMB1sMXY+tzblOD4FWmEbocvup2/aLOaQEp7JmGp78k=
 golang.org/x/term v0.8.0/go.mod h1:xPskH00ivmX89bAKVGSKKtLOWNx2+17Eiy94tnKShWo=
 golang.org/x/term v0.15.0/go.mod h1:BDl952bC7+uMoWR75FIrCDx79TPU9oHkTZ9yRbYOrX0=
-golang.org/x/term v0.24.0 h1:Mh5cbb+Zk2hqqXNO7S1iTjEphVL+jb8ZWaqh/g+JWkM=
-golang.org/x/term v0.24.0/go.mod h1:lOBK/LVxemqiMij05LGJ0tzNr8xlmwBRJ81PX6wVLH8=
+golang.org/x/term v0.27.0 h1:WP60Sv1nlK1T6SupCHbXzSaN0b9wUmsPoRS9b61A23Q=
+golang.org/x/term v0.27.0/go.mod h1:iMsnZpn0cago0GOrHO2+Y7u7JPn5AylBrcoWkElMTSM=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.0/go.mod h1:NqM8EUOU14njkJ3fqMW+pc6Ldnwhi/IjpwHt7yyuwOQ=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.3/go.mod h1:5Zoc/QRtKVWzQhOtBMvqHzDpF6irO9z98xDceosuGiQ=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.6/go.mod h1:5Zoc/QRtKVWzQhOtBMvqHzDpF6irO9z98xDceosuGiQ=
@@ -619,8 +619,8 @@ golang.org/x/text v0.4.0/go.mod h1:mrYo+phRRbMaCq/xk9113O4dZlRixOauAjOtrjsXDZ8=
 golang.org/x/text v0.7.0/go.mod h1:mrYo+phRRbMaCq/xk9113O4dZlRixOauAjOtrjsXDZ8=
 golang.org/x/text v0.9.0/go.mod h1:e1OnstbJyHTd6l/uOt8jFFHp6TRDWZR/bV3emEE/zU8=
 golang.org/x/text v0.14.0/go.mod h1:18ZOQIKpY8NJVqYksKHtTdi31H5itFRjB5/qKTNYzSU=
-golang.org/x/text v0.18.0 h1:XvMDiNzPAl0jr17s6W9lcaIhGUfUORdGCNsuLmPG224=
-golang.org/x/text v0.18.0/go.mod h1:BuEKDfySbSR4drPmRPG/7iBdf8hvFMuRexcpahXilzY=
+golang.org/x/text v0.21.0 h1:zyQAAkrwaneQ066sspRyJaG9VNi/YJ1NfzcGB3hZ/qo=
+golang.org/x/text v0.21.0/go.mod h1:4IBbMaMmOPCJ8SecivzSH54+73PCFmPWxNTLm+vZkEQ=
 golang.org/x/time v0.5.0 h1:o7cqy6amK/52YcAKIPlM3a+Fpj35zvRj2TP+e1xFSfk=
 golang.org/x/time v0.5.0/go.mod h1:3BpzKBy/shNhVucY/MWOyx10tF3SFh9QdLuxbVysPQM=
 golang.org/x/tools v0.0.0-20180917221912-90fa682c2a6e/go.mod h1:n7NCudcB/nEzxVGmLbDWY5pfWTLqBcC2KZ6jyYvM4mQ=
@@ -726,12 +726,12 @@ sigs.k8s.io/cloud-provider-azure/pkg/azclient v0.0.29 h1:qiifAaaBqV3d/EcN9dKJaJI
 sigs.k8s.io/cloud-provider-azure/pkg/azclient v0.0.29/go.mod h1:ZFAt0qF1kR+w8nBVJK56s6CFvLrlosN1i2c+Sxb7LBk=
 sigs.k8s.io/cloud-provider-azure/pkg/azclient/configloader v0.0.16 h1:Fm/Yjv4nXjUtJ90uXKSKwPwaTWYuDFMhDNNOd77PlOg=
 sigs.k8s.io/cloud-provider-azure/pkg/azclient/configloader v0.0.16/go.mod h1:+kl90flu4+WCP6HBGVYbKVQR+5ztDzUNrWJz8rsnvRU=
-sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api v1.8.5 h1:lNA2fPN4fkXEs+oOQlnwxT/4VwRFBpv5kkSoJG8nqBA=
-sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api v1.8.5/go.mod h1:pXv5LqLxuIbhGIXykyNKiJh+KrLweSBajVHHitPLyoY=
-sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api/test v1.8.5 h1:p2fjSv/exSFgYw+pO6iap1RVJPc0LJ+/A/PAMPl9vhU=
-sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api/test v1.8.5/go.mod h1:odnzMkDndCRPCWdwl0CRofyZyY857wN34bUih1MLKIc=
-sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.18.5 h1:nTHio/W+Q4aBlQMgbnC5hZb4IjIidyrizMai9P6n4Rk=
-sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.18.5/go.mod h1:TVoGrfdpbA9VRFaRnKgk9P5/atA0pMwq+f+msb9M8Sg=
+sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api v1.8.8 h1:0QchrO0gKvUBQlLyMWEPHSIC8YdVd8EMyajejIks2qE=
+sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api v1.8.8/go.mod h1:XnsL2ynNRPGvA1180m51rFjM9IAmfBQ3oK65/samTkw=
+sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api/test v1.8.8 h1:hMJWwi9ie7e4Kxw2uI6naRDVuftf+18GmIGT8ukfy2E=
+sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api/test v1.8.8/go.mod h1:SzaYMrIYKIEgnmgUy/KGz1+43T/obChjHviGjwHg65E=
+sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.18.6 h1:UnEoLBLDpQwzJ2jYh6aTdiMhGjNDR7IdFn9YEqHIccc=
+sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.18.6/go.mod h1:Dcsa9v8AEBWa3sQNJHsuWPT4ICv99irl5wj83NiC12U=
 sigs.k8s.io/json v0.0.0-20221116044647-bc3834ca7abd h1:EDPBXCAspyGV4jQlpZSudPeMmr1bNJefnuqLsRAsHZo=
 sigs.k8s.io/json v0.0.0-20221116044647-bc3834ca7abd/go.mod h1:B8JuhiUyNFVKdsE8h686QcCxMaH6HrOAZj4vswFpcB0=
 sigs.k8s.io/kind v0.24.0 h1:g4y4eu0qa+SCeKESLpESgMmVFBebL0BDa6f777OIWrg=
diff --git a/test/e2e/config/azure-dev.yaml b/test/e2e/config/azure-dev.yaml
index 0eccf3e2c47..9456a6441e8 100644
--- a/test/e2e/config/azure-dev.yaml
+++ b/test/e2e/config/azure-dev.yaml
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@ managementClusterName: capz-e2e
 images:
   - name: ${MANAGER_IMAGE}
     loadBehavior: mustLoad
-  - name: registry.k8s.io/cluster-api/cluster-api-controller:v1.8.5
+  - name: registry.k8s.io/cluster-api/cluster-api-controller:v1.8.8
     loadBehavior: tryLoad
-  - name: registry.k8s.io/cluster-api/kubeadm-bootstrap-controller:v1.8.5
+  - name: registry.k8s.io/cluster-api/kubeadm-bootstrap-controller:v1.8.8
     loadBehavior: tryLoad
-  - name: registry.k8s.io/cluster-api/kubeadm-control-plane-controller:v1.8.5
+  - name: registry.k8s.io/cluster-api/kubeadm-control-plane-controller:v1.8.8
     loadBehavior: tryLoad
   - name: registry.k8s.io/cluster-api-helm/cluster-api-helm-controller:v0.2.5
     loadBehavior: tryLoad
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ providers:
   - name: cluster-api
     type: CoreProvider
     versions:
-    - name: v1.7.8 # latest patch of earliest minor in supported v1beta1 releases; this is used for v1beta1 old --> v1beta1 latest clusterctl upgrades test only.
-      value: "https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.7.8/core-components.yaml"
+    - name: v1.7.9 # latest patch of earliest minor in supported v1beta1 releases; this is used for v1beta1 old --> v1beta1 latest clusterctl upgrades test only.
+      value: "https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.7.9/core-components.yaml"
       type: "url"
       contract: v1beta1
       replacements:
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ providers:
           new: --metrics-addr=:8080
       files:
         - sourcePath: "../data/shared/v1beta1/metadata.yaml"
-    - name: v1.8.5
-      value: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.8.5/core-components.yaml
+    - name: v1.8.8
+      value: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.8.8/core-components.yaml
       type: url
       contract: v1beta1
       files:
@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ providers:
   - name: kubeadm
     type: BootstrapProvider
     versions:
-    - name: v1.7.8 # latest patch of earliest minor in supported v1beta1 releases; this is used for v1beta1 old --> v1beta1 latest clusterctl upgrades test only.
-      value: "https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.7.8/bootstrap-components.yaml"
+    - name: v1.7.9 # latest patch of earliest minor in supported v1beta1 releases; this is used for v1beta1 old --> v1beta1 latest clusterctl upgrades test only.
+      value: "https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.7.9/bootstrap-components.yaml"
       type: "url"
       contract: v1beta1
       replacements:
@@ -48,8 +48,8 @@ providers:
           new: --metrics-addr=:8080
       files:
         - sourcePath: "../data/shared/v1beta1/metadata.yaml"
-    - name: v1.8.5
-      value: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.8.5/bootstrap-components.yaml
+    - name: v1.8.8
+      value: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.8.8/bootstrap-components.yaml
       type: url
       contract: v1beta1
       files:
@@ -61,8 +61,8 @@ providers:
   - name: kubeadm
     type: ControlPlaneProvider
     versions:
-    - name: v1.7.8 # latest patch of earliest minor in supported v1beta1 releases; this is used for v1beta1 old --> v1beta1 latest clusterctl upgrades test only.
-      value: "https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.7.8/control-plane-components.yaml"
+    - name: v1.7.9 # latest patch of earliest minor in supported v1beta1 releases; this is used for v1beta1 old --> v1beta1 latest clusterctl upgrades test only.
+      value: "https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.7.9/control-plane-components.yaml"
       type: "url"
       contract: v1beta1
       replacements:
@@ -70,8 +70,8 @@ providers:
           new: --metrics-addr=:8080
       files:
         - sourcePath: "../data/shared/v1beta1/metadata.yaml"
-    - name: v1.8.5
-      value: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.8.5/control-plane-components.yaml
+    - name: v1.8.8
+      value: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api/releases/download/v1.8.8/control-plane-components.yaml
       type: url
       contract: v1beta1
       files:
@@ -227,8 +227,8 @@ variables:
   SECURITY_SCAN_FAIL_THRESHOLD: "${SECURITY_SCAN_FAIL_THRESHOLD:-100}"
   SECURITY_SCAN_CONTAINER: "${SECURITY_SCAN_CONTAINER:-quay.io/armosec/kubescape:v2.0.167}"
   AZURE_CNI_V1_MANIFEST_PATH: "${PWD}/templates/addons/azure-cni-v1.yaml"
-  OLD_CAPI_UPGRADE_VERSION: "v1.7.8"
-  LATEST_CAPI_UPGRADE_VERSION: "v1.8.5"
+  OLD_CAPI_UPGRADE_VERSION: "v1.7.9"
+  LATEST_CAPI_UPGRADE_VERSION: "v1.8.8"
   OLD_PROVIDER_UPGRADE_VERSION: "v1.15.3"
   LATEST_PROVIDER_UPGRADE_VERSION: "v1.16.1"
   OLD_CAAPH_UPGRADE_VERSION: "v0.1.0-alpha.10"