diff --git a/.github/workflows/benchmarks.yml b/.github/workflows/benchmarks.yml
index 3ca4d1095f6..4e66fb40419 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/benchmarks.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/benchmarks.yml
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           role-duration-seconds: 18000 # 5 hours
 
-      - uses: google-github-actions/get-secretmanager-secrets@0eee3cd066acdd9427a820bd68231cdea7c66a8d # v2.2.1
+      - uses: google-github-actions/get-secretmanager-secrets@e5bb06c2ca53b244f978d33348d18317a7f263ce # v2.2.2
         with:
           export_to_environment: true
           secrets: |-
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ jobs:
       # there is a high chance things will stop working
       # This is trying to reduce the chances of that happening.
       # See https://github.com/elastic/observability-test-environments/actions/workflows/cluster-rotate-api-keys.yml
-      - uses: google-github-actions/get-secretmanager-secrets@0eee3cd066acdd9427a820bd68231cdea7c66a8d # v2.2.1
+      - uses: google-github-actions/get-secretmanager-secrets@e5bb06c2ca53b244f978d33348d18317a7f263ce # v2.2.2
         if: always()
         with:
           export_to_environment: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/smoke-tests-ess.yml b/.github/workflows/smoke-tests-ess.yml
index 72e066113eb..f107720ae10 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/smoke-tests-ess.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/smoke-tests-ess.yml
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - uses: elastic/oblt-actions/google/auth@v1
 
-      - uses: google-github-actions/get-secretmanager-secrets@0eee3cd066acdd9427a820bd68231cdea7c66a8d # v2.2.1
+      - uses: google-github-actions/get-secretmanager-secrets@e5bb06c2ca53b244f978d33348d18317a7f263ce # v2.2.2
         with:
           export_to_environment: true
           secrets: |-
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ jobs:
       # there is a high chance things will stop working
       # This is trying to reduce the chances of that happening.
       # See https://github.com/elastic/observability-test-environments/actions/workflows/cluster-rotate-api-keys.yml
-      - uses: google-github-actions/get-secretmanager-secrets@0eee3cd066acdd9427a820bd68231cdea7c66a8d # v2.2.1
+      - uses: google-github-actions/get-secretmanager-secrets@e5bb06c2ca53b244f978d33348d18317a7f263ce # v2.2.2
         if: always()
         with:
           export_to_environment: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/smoke-tests-os.yml b/.github/workflows/smoke-tests-os.yml
index 55cbcba7cf9..157cd86ab1c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/smoke-tests-os.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/smoke-tests-os.yml
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - uses: elastic/oblt-actions/google/auth@v1
 
-      - uses: google-github-actions/get-secretmanager-secrets@0eee3cd066acdd9427a820bd68231cdea7c66a8d # v2.2.1
+      - uses: google-github-actions/get-secretmanager-secrets@e5bb06c2ca53b244f978d33348d18317a7f263ce # v2.2.2
         with:
           export_to_environment: true
           secrets: |-
diff --git a/NOTICE.txt b/NOTICE.txt
index 7bc8eccef7b..6f10f302d1e 100644
--- a/NOTICE.txt
+++ b/NOTICE.txt
@@ -573,11 +573,11 @@ Contents of probable licence file $GOMODCACHE/github.com/elastic/apm-data@v1.13.
 
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Dependency : github.com/elastic/beats/v7
-Version: v7.0.0-alpha2.0.20241030192759-b1c7478458bd
+Version: v7.0.0-alpha2.0.20241101151741-249d0dc59f82
 Licence type (autodetected): Elastic
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-Contents of probable licence file $GOMODCACHE/github.com/elastic/beats/v7@v7.0.0-alpha2.0.20241030192759-b1c7478458bd/LICENSE.txt:
+Contents of probable licence file $GOMODCACHE/github.com/elastic/beats/v7@v7.0.0-alpha2.0.20241101151741-249d0dc59f82/LICENSE.txt:
 
 Source code in this repository is variously licensed under the Apache License
 Version 2.0, an Apache compatible license, or the Elastic License. Outside of
@@ -829,11 +829,11 @@ SOFTWARE
 
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Dependency : github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs
-Version: v0.15.0
+Version: v0.17.0
 Licence type (autodetected): Apache-2.0
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-Contents of probable licence file $GOMODCACHE/github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs@v0.15.0/LICENSE:
+Contents of probable licence file $GOMODCACHE/github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs@v0.17.0/LICENSE:
 
                                  Apache License
                            Version 2.0, January 2004
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index d3f317dacd8..0af1f62a7fc 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ x-logging: &default-logging
 services:
   elasticsearch:
     # TODO: replace with a pinned version such as 9.0.0-aaaaaaaa-SNAPSHOT
-    image: docker.elastic.co/elasticsearch/elasticsearch:9.0.0-bb296cd9-SNAPSHOT
+    image: docker.elastic.co/elasticsearch/elasticsearch:9.0.0-263e2f29-SNAPSHOT
     ports:
       - 9200:9200
     healthcheck:
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ services:
 
   kibana:
     # TODO: replace with a pinned version such as 9.0.0-aaaaaaaa-SNAPSHOT
-    image: docker.elastic.co/kibana/kibana:9.0.0-bb296cd9-SNAPSHOT
+    image: docker.elastic.co/kibana/kibana:9.0.0-263e2f29-SNAPSHOT
     ports:
       - 5601:5601
     healthcheck:
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ services:
 
   metricbeat:
     # TODO: replace with a pinned version such as 9.0.0-aaaaaaaa-SNAPSHOT
-    image: docker.elastic.co/beats/metricbeat:9.0.0-bb296cd9-SNAPSHOT
+    image: docker.elastic.co/beats/metricbeat:9.0.0-263e2f29-SNAPSHOT
     environment:
       ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS: '["http://elasticsearch:9200"]'
       ELASTICSEARCH_USERNAME: "${KIBANA_ES_USER:-admin}"
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index b587cbcccca..b2f1250c3a7 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -8,9 +8,9 @@ require (
 	github.com/dustin/go-humanize v1.0.1
 	github.com/elastic/apm-aggregation v1.1.0
 	github.com/elastic/apm-data v1.13.1
-	github.com/elastic/beats/v7 v7.0.0-alpha2.0.20241030192759-b1c7478458bd
+	github.com/elastic/beats/v7 v7.0.0-alpha2.0.20241101151741-249d0dc59f82
 	github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-client/v7 v7.16.0
-	github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs v0.15.0
+	github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs v0.17.0
 	github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-system-metrics v0.11.3
 	github.com/elastic/gmux v0.3.2
 	github.com/elastic/go-docappender/v2 v2.3.0
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 1f14389ca8d..5767e21d020 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -132,14 +132,14 @@ github.com/elastic/apm-aggregation v1.1.0 h1:eTHGd5w99JoRFJ763MJP6nUX4hkkeSil3KW
 github.com/elastic/apm-aggregation v1.1.0/go.mod h1:YBQ77Jt7vOy2/7w4q5SsEifhc0V02dJxRcyyeC6HsvQ=
 github.com/elastic/apm-data v1.13.1 h1:vQUWqi9H6QC4FCZ05kILkE+2BeKWw6iT+NXXyadWJm8=
 github.com/elastic/apm-data v1.13.1/go.mod h1:m2FSH7alN07VmtmN10KmgxAa8tgXlJDe/rC0g4FnZUI=
-github.com/elastic/beats/v7 v7.0.0-alpha2.0.20241030192759-b1c7478458bd h1:hetRhQ+fxoK8K6c5nwQ7UT0lS/d15788AEIBxeKDk80=
-github.com/elastic/beats/v7 v7.0.0-alpha2.0.20241030192759-b1c7478458bd/go.mod h1:eCxJTNQhr9Uqd8AxN5ZmoEmwP3siol1GZ6cwu0CemVI=
+github.com/elastic/beats/v7 v7.0.0-alpha2.0.20241101151741-249d0dc59f82 h1:bX5zv0QOdSQGI/11vJ+7Rcy50qIt+BsWYyV6C+WMZRI=
+github.com/elastic/beats/v7 v7.0.0-alpha2.0.20241101151741-249d0dc59f82/go.mod h1:eCxJTNQhr9Uqd8AxN5ZmoEmwP3siol1GZ6cwu0CemVI=
 github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-autodiscover v0.9.0 h1:+iWIKh0u3e8I+CJa3FfWe9h0JojNasPgYIA47gpuuns=
 github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-autodiscover v0.9.0/go.mod h1:5iUxLHhVdaGSWYTveSwfJEY4RqPXTG13LPiFoxcpFd4=
 github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-client/v7 v7.16.0 h1:yKGq2+CxAuW8Kh0EoNl202tqAyQKfBcPRawVKs2Jve0=
 github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-client/v7 v7.16.0/go.mod h1:6h+f9QdIr3GO2ODC0Y8+aEXRwzbA5W4eV4dd/67z7nI=
-github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs v0.15.0 h1:MGl6vFu5YAxFHA+wDhXbQl2OvSk/MRgezxBCD5kCwIg=
-github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs v0.15.0/go.mod h1:5CR02awPrBr+tfmjBBK+JI+dMmHNQjpVY24J0wjbC7M=
+github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs v0.17.0 h1:KvgigcnlH74yZGZyKx7tqn9zBzy6Bt+AVhg3PfrxNW0=
+github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs v0.17.0/go.mod h1:5CR02awPrBr+tfmjBBK+JI+dMmHNQjpVY24J0wjbC7M=
 github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-system-metrics v0.11.3 h1:LDzRwP8kxvsYEtMDgMSKZs1TgPcSEukit+/EAP5Y28A=
 github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-system-metrics v0.11.3/go.mod h1:saqLKe9fuyuAo6IADAnnuy1kaBI7VNlxfwMo8KzSRyQ=
 github.com/elastic/elastic-transport-go/v8 v8.6.0 h1:Y2S/FBjx1LlCv5m6pWAF2kDJAHoSjSRSJCApolgfthA=
diff --git a/release.mk b/release.mk
index 9e83e9f584c..9db2b3b8d40 100644
--- a/release.mk
+++ b/release.mk
@@ -39,12 +39,14 @@ PROJECT_PATCH_VERSION ?= $(shell echo $(RELEASE_VERSION) | cut -f3 -d.)
 PROJECT_OWNER ?= elastic
 RELEASE_TYPE ?= minor
 
+# if gh is installed only
+ifneq ($(shell command -v gh 2>/dev/null),)
 CURRENT_RELEASE ?= $(shell gh release list --exclude-drafts --exclude-pre-releases --repo elastic/apm-server --limit 10 --json tagName --jq '.[].tagName|select(. | startswith("v$(PROJECT_MAJOR_VERSION)"))' | sed 's|v||g' | sort -r | head -n 1)
 RELEASE_BRANCH ?= $(PROJECT_MAJOR_VERSION).$(PROJECT_MINOR_VERSION)
 NEXT_PROJECT_MINOR_VERSION ?= $(PROJECT_MAJOR_VERSION).$(shell expr $(PROJECT_MINOR_VERSION) + 1).0
 NEXT_RELEASE ?= $(RELEASE_BRANCH).$(shell expr $(PROJECT_PATCH_VERSION) + 1)
-
 BRANCH_PATCH = update-$(NEXT_RELEASE)
+endif
 
 # for the view commits
 # as long as 8.x is the branch to run releases, then the base branch is 8.x
diff --git a/testing/benchmark/variables.tf b/testing/benchmark/variables.tf
index b06a4d7a6b2..f3c65302eb7 100644
--- a/testing/benchmark/variables.tf
+++ b/testing/benchmark/variables.tf
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ variable "ess_region" {
 }
 
 variable "deployment_template" {
-  default     = "gcp-compute-optimized-v3"
+  default     = "gcp-cpu-optimized"
   description = "Optional deployment template. Defaults to the CPU optimized template for GCP"
   type        = string
 }
diff --git a/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/apm-server.yaml b/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/apm-server.yaml
index 78812ca199b..044e4cf1e81 100644
--- a/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/apm-server.yaml
+++ b/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/apm-server.yaml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ metadata:
   name: apm-server
 spec:
   # TODO: replace with a pinned version such as 9.0.0-aaaaaaaa-SNAPSHOT
-  version: 9.0.0-bb296cd9-SNAPSHOT
+  version: 9.0.0-263e2f29-SNAPSHOT
   count: 1
   http:
     tls:
diff --git a/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/elasticsearch.yaml b/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/elasticsearch.yaml
index 18b89eae44a..8f8d1e3a056 100644
--- a/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/elasticsearch.yaml
+++ b/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/elasticsearch.yaml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ metadata:
   name: elasticsearch
 spec:
   # TODO: replace with a pinned version such as 9.0.0-aaaaaaaa-SNAPSHOT
-  version: 9.0.0-bb296cd9-SNAPSHOT
+  version: 9.0.0-263e2f29-SNAPSHOT
   auth:
     fileRealm:
       - secretName: elasticsearch-admin
diff --git a/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/kibana.yaml b/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/kibana.yaml
index 0ad0b7953ba..49449fc6d06 100644
--- a/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/kibana.yaml
+++ b/testing/infra/k8s/base/stack/kibana.yaml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ metadata:
   name: kibana
 spec:
   # TODO: replace with a pinned version such as 9.0.0-aaaaaaaa-SNAPSHOT
-  version: 9.0.0-bb296cd9-SNAPSHOT
+  version: 9.0.0-263e2f29-SNAPSHOT
   count: 1
   elasticsearchRef:
     name: elasticsearch