diff --git a/release-tools/KUBERNETES_CSI_OWNERS_ALIASES b/release-tools/KUBERNETES_CSI_OWNERS_ALIASES
index 04a07bfb2b..6e46cf2901 100644
--- a/release-tools/KUBERNETES_CSI_OWNERS_ALIASES
+++ b/release-tools/KUBERNETES_CSI_OWNERS_ALIASES
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ aliases:
   # when they are temporarily unable to review PRs.
   kubernetes-csi-reviewers:
   - andyzhangx
+  - carlory
   - chrishenzie
   - ggriffiths
   - gnufied
diff --git a/release-tools/SIDECAR_RELEASE_PROCESS.md b/release-tools/SIDECAR_RELEASE_PROCESS.md
index 0e3d516a5e..4f5d033c23 100644
--- a/release-tools/SIDECAR_RELEASE_PROCESS.md
+++ b/release-tools/SIDECAR_RELEASE_PROCESS.md
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ The release manager must:
 Whenever a new Kubernetes minor version is released, our kubernetes-csi CI jobs
 must be updated.
 
-[Our CI jobs](https://k8s-testgrid.appspot.com/sig-storage-csi-ci) have the
+[Our CI jobs](https://testgrid.k8s.io/sig-storage-csi-ci) have the
 naming convention `<hostpath-deployment-version>-on-<kubernetes-version>`.
 
 1. Jobs should be actively monitored to find and fix failures in sidecars and
@@ -46,54 +46,48 @@ naming convention `<hostpath-deployment-version>-on-<kubernetes-version>`.
 ## Release Process
 1. Identify all issues and ongoing PRs that should go into the release, and
   drive them to resolution.
-1. Download the latest version of the
-   [K8s release notes generator](https://github.com/kubernetes/release/tree/HEAD/cmd/release-notes)
-1. Create a
-   [Github personal access token](https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/creating-a-personal-access-token)
-   with `repo:public_repo` access
-1. Generate release notes for the release. Replace arguments with the relevant
-   information.
-    * Clean up old cached information (also needed if you are generating release
-      notes for multiple repos)
-      ```bash
-      rm -rf /tmp/k8s-repo
-      ```
-    * For new minor releases on master:
-        ```bash
-        GITHUB_TOKEN=<token> release-notes \
-          --discover=mergebase-to-latest \
-          --org=kubernetes-csi \
-          --repo=external-provisioner \
-          --required-author="" \
-          --markdown-links \
-          --output out.md
-        ```
-    * For new patch releases on a release branch:
-        ```bash
-        GITHUB_TOKEN=<token> release-notes \
-          --discover=patch-to-latest \
-          --branch=release-1.1 \
-          --org=kubernetes-csi \
-          --repo=external-provisioner \
-          --required-author="" \
-          --markdown-links \
-          --output out.md
-        ```
-1. Compare the generated output to the new commits for the release to check if
-   any notable change missed a release note.
-1. Reword release notes as needed. Make sure to check notes for breaking
-   changes and deprecations.
-1. If release is a new major/minor version, create a new `CHANGELOG-<major>.<minor>.md`
-   file. Otherwise, add the release notes to the top of the existing CHANGELOG
-   file for that minor version.
-1. Submit a PR for the CHANGELOG changes.
-1. Submit a PR for README changes, in particular, Compatibility, Feature status,
-   and any other sections that may need updating.
+1. Update dependencies for sidecars via
+   [go-modules-update.sh](https://github.com/kubernetes-csi/csi-driver-host-path/blob/HEAD/release-tools/go-modules-update.sh),
+  and get PRs approved and merged.
 1. Check that all [canary CI
-  jobs](https://k8s-testgrid.appspot.com/sig-storage-csi-ci) are passing,
+  jobs](https://testgrid.k8s.io/sig-storage-csi-ci) are passing,
   and that test coverage is adequate for the changes that are going into the release.
 1. Check that the post-\<sidecar\>-push-images builds are succeeding.
-   [Example](https://k8s-testgrid.appspot.com/sig-storage-image-build#post-external-snapshotter-push-images)
+   [Example](https://testgrid.k8s.io/sig-storage-image-build#post-external-snapshotter-push-images)
+1. Generate release notes.
+    1.  Download the latest version of the [K8s release notes generator](https://github.com/kubernetes/release/tree/HEAD/cmd/release-notes)
+    1. Create a
+       [Github personal access token](https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/creating-a-personal-access-token)
+       with `repo:public_repo` access
+    1. For patch release, use the script generate_patch_release_notes.sh. Read the instructions at the top of the
+       script. The script also creates PRs for each branch.
+    1. For new minor releases, follow these steps and replace arguments with the relevant
+       information.
+        * Clean up old cached information (also needed if you are generating release
+          notes for multiple repos)
+          ```bash
+          rm -rf /tmp/k8s-repo
+          ```
+        * For new minor releases on master:
+            ```bash
+            GITHUB_TOKEN=<token> release-notes \
+              --discover=mergebase-to-latest \
+              --org=kubernetes-csi \
+              --repo=external-provisioner \
+              --required-author="" \
+              --markdown-links \
+              --output out.md
+            ```
+    1. Compare the generated output to the new commits for the release to check if
+       any notable change missed a release note.
+    1. Reword release notes as needed, ideally in the original PRs so that the
+       release notes can be regnerated. Make sure to check notes for breaking
+       changes and deprecations.
+    1. If release is a new major/minor version, create a new `CHANGELOG-<major>.<minor>.md`
+       file.
+    1. Submit a PR for the CHANGELOG changes.
+1. Submit a PR for README changes, in particular, Compatibility, Feature status,
+   and any other sections that may need updating.
 1. Make sure that no new PRs have merged in the meantime, and no PRs are in
    flight and soon to be merged.
 1. Create a new release following a previous release as a template. Be sure to select the correct
@@ -101,7 +95,7 @@ naming convention `<hostpath-deployment-version>-on-<kubernetes-version>`.
    [external-provisioner example](https://github.com/kubernetes-csi/external-provisioner/releases/new)
 1. If release was a new major/minor version, create a new `release-<minor>`
    branch at that commit.
-1. Check [image build status](https://k8s-testgrid.appspot.com/sig-storage-image-build).
+1. Check [image build status](https://testgrid.k8s.io/sig-storage-image-build).
 1. Promote images from k8s-staging-sig-storage to registry.k8s.io/sig-storage. From
    the [k8s image
    repo](https://github.com/kubernetes/k8s.io/tree/HEAD/registry.k8s.io/images/k8s-staging-sig-storage),
@@ -120,7 +114,7 @@ naming convention `<hostpath-deployment-version>-on-<kubernetes-version>`.
 
 The following jobs are triggered after tagging to produce the corresponding
 image(s):
-https://k8s-testgrid.appspot.com/sig-storage-image-build
+https://testgrid.k8s.io/sig-storage-image-build
 
 Clicking on a failed build job opens that job in https://prow.k8s.io. Next to
 the job title is a rerun icon (circle with arrow). Clicking it opens a popup
diff --git a/release-tools/generate_patch_release_notes.sh b/release-tools/generate_patch_release_notes.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..606c24d22d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release-tools/generate_patch_release_notes.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Copyright 2023 The Kubernetes Authors.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+
+# Usage: generate_patch_release_notes.sh
+#
+# Generates and creates PRs for kubernetes-csi patch releases.
+#
+# Required environment variables
+# CSI_RELEASE_TOKEN: Github token needed for generating release notes
+# GITHUB_USER: Github username to create PRs with
+#
+# Instructions:
+# 1. Login with "gh auth login"
+# 2. Copy this script to the kubernetes-csi directory (one directory above the
+# repos)
+# 3. Update the repos and versions in the $releases array
+# 4. Set environment variables
+# 5. Run script from the kubernetes-csi directory
+#
+# Caveats:
+# - This script doesn't handle regenerating and updating existing PRs yet.
+#   It might work if you comment out the PR creation line
+
+set -e
+set -x
+
+releases=(
+#  "external-attacher 4.4.1"
+#  "external-provisioner 3.6.1"
+#  "external-snapshotter 6.2.3"
+)
+
+function gen_patch_relnotes() {
+  rm out.md || true
+  rm -rf /tmp/k8s-repo || true
+  GITHUB_TOKEN="$CSI_RELEASE_TOKEN" \
+  release-notes --discover=patch-to-latest --branch="$2" \
+    --org=kubernetes-csi --repo="$1" \
+    --required-author="" --markdown-links --output out.md
+}
+
+for rel in "${releases[@]}"; do
+  read -r repo version <<< "$rel"
+
+  # Parse minor version
+  minorPattern="(^[[:digit:]]+\.[[:digit:]]+)\."
+  [[ "$version" =~ $minorPattern ]]
+  minor="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+
+  echo "$repo" "$version" "$minor"
+
+  pushd "$repo/CHANGELOG"
+
+  git fetch upstream
+
+  # Create branch
+  branch="changelog-release-$minor"
+  git checkout master
+  git branch -D "$branch" || true
+  git checkout --track "upstream/release-$minor" -b "$branch"
+
+  # Generate release notes
+  gen_patch_relnotes "$repo" "release-$minor"
+  cat > tmp.md <<EOF
+# Release notes for v$version
+
+[Documentation](https://kubernetes-csi.github.io)
+
+EOF
+
+  cat out.md >> tmp.md
+  echo >> tmp.md
+
+  file="CHANGELOG-$minor.md"
+  cat "$file" >> tmp.md
+  mv tmp.md "$file"
+
+  git add -u
+  git commit -m "Add changelog for $version"
+  git push -f origin "$branch"
+
+  # Create PR
+prbody=$(cat <<EOF
+\`\`\`release-note
+NONE
+\`\`\`
+EOF
+)
+  gh pr create --title="Changelog for v$version" --body "$prbody"  --head "$GITHUB_USER:$branch" --base "release-$minor" --repo="kubernetes-csi/$repo"
+
+  popd
+done
diff --git a/release-tools/go-modules-update.sh b/release-tools/go-modules-update.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..bd605e9701
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release-tools/go-modules-update.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# Copyright 2023 The Kubernetes Authors.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+
+# Usage: go-modules-update.sh
+#
+# Batch update dependencies for sidecars.
+#
+# Required environment variables
+# CSI_RELEASE_TOKEN: Github token needed for generating release notes
+# GITHUB_USER: Github username to create PRs with
+#
+# Instructions:
+# 1. Login with "gh auth login"
+# 2. Copy this script to the kubernetes-csi directory (one directory above the
+# repos)
+# 3. Update the repos and master branch so locally it has the latest upstream
+# change
+# 4. Set environment variables
+# 5. Run script from the kubernetes-csi directory
+#
+# Caveats:
+# - This script doesn't handle interface incompatibility of updates.
+#   You need to resolve interface incompatibility case by case. The
+#   most frequent case is to update the interface(new parameters,  
+#   name change of the method, etc.)in the sidecar repo and make sure
+#   the build and test pass.
+
+
+set -e
+set -x
+
+MAX_RETRY=10
+
+# Get the options
+while getopts ":u:v:" option; do
+   case $option in
+      u) # Set username
+         username=$OPTARG;;
+      v) # Set version
+         v=$OPTARG;;
+     \?) # Invalid option
+         echo "Error: Invalid option: $OPTARG"
+         exit;;
+   esac
+done
+
+# Only need to do this once
+gh auth login
+
+while read -r repo branches; do
+    if [ "$repo" != "#" ]; then
+    (
+        cd "$repo"
+        git fetch origin
+        for i in $branches; do
+            if [ "$(git rev-parse --verify "module-update-$i" 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
+                git checkout master && git branch -d "module-update-$i"
+            fi
+            git checkout -B "module-update-$i" "origin/$i"
+            rm -rf .git/MERGE*
+            if ! git subtree pull --squash --prefix=release-tools https://github.com/kubernetes-csi/csi-release-tools.git master; then
+                # Sometimes "--squash" leads to merge conflicts. Because we know that "release-tools"
+                # is an unmodified copy of csi-release-tools, we can automatically resolve that
+                # by replacing it completely.
+                if [ -e .git/MERGE_MSG ] && [ -e .git/FETCH_HEAD ] && grep -q "^# Conflict" .git/MERGE_MSG; then
+                    rm -rf release-tools
+                    mkdir release-tools
+                    git archive FETCH_HEAD  | tar -C release-tools -xf -
+                    git add release-tools
+                    git commit --file=.git/MERGE_MSG
+                else
+                    exit 1
+                fi
+            fi
+            RETRY=0
+            while ! ./release-tools/go-get-kubernetes.sh -p "$v" && RETRY < $MAX_RETRY
+                do
+                  RETRY=$((RETRY+1))
+                  go mod tidy && go mod vendor && go mod tidy
+            done   
+            go mod tidy && go mod vendor && go mod tidy
+            git add --all
+            git commit -m "Update dependency go modules for k8s v$v"
+            git remote set-url origin "https://github.com/$username/$repo.git"
+            make test
+            git push origin "module-update-$i" --force
+            # Create PR
+prbody=$(cat <<EOF
+Ran kubernetes-csi/csi-release-tools go-get-kubernetes.sh -p ${v}.
+
+
+\`\`\`release-note
+Update kubernetes dependencies to v${v}
+\`\`\`
+EOF
+)
+            gh pr create --title="Update dependency go modules for k8s v$v" --body "$prbody"  --head "$username:module-update-master" --base "master" --repo="kubernetes-csi/$repo"
+        done  
+    )
+    fi
+done <<EOF
+csi-driver-host-path master
+csi-driver-iscsi master
+csi-driver-nfs master
+csi-lib-utils master
+csi-proxy master
+csi-test master
+external-attacher master
+external-health-monitor master
+external-provisioner master
+external-resizer master
+external-snapshotter master
+livenessprobe master
+node-driver-registrar master
+EOF
diff --git a/release-tools/prow.sh b/release-tools/prow.sh
index 7ec8a3f8f8..0af3fdcd86 100755
--- a/release-tools/prow.sh
+++ b/release-tools/prow.sh
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ configvar CSI_PROW_BUILD_PLATFORMS "linux amd64 amd64; linux ppc64le ppc64le -pp
 # which is disabled with GOFLAGS=-mod=vendor).
 configvar GOFLAGS_VENDOR "$( [ -d vendor ] && echo '-mod=vendor' )" "Go flags for using the vendor directory"
 
-configvar CSI_PROW_GO_VERSION_BUILD "1.20" "Go version for building the component" # depends on component's source code
+configvar CSI_PROW_GO_VERSION_BUILD "1.21.5" "Go version for building the component" # depends on component's source code
 configvar CSI_PROW_GO_VERSION_E2E "" "override Go version for building the Kubernetes E2E test suite" # normally doesn't need to be set, see install_e2e
 configvar CSI_PROW_GO_VERSION_SANITY "${CSI_PROW_GO_VERSION_BUILD}" "Go version for building the csi-sanity test suite" # depends on CSI_PROW_SANITY settings below
 configvar CSI_PROW_GO_VERSION_KIND "${CSI_PROW_GO_VERSION_BUILD}" "Go version for building 'kind'" # depends on CSI_PROW_KIND_VERSION below
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ kindest/node:v1.18.20@sha256:738cdc23ed4be6cc0b7ea277a2ebcc454c8373d7d8fb991a7fc
 # If the deployment script is called with CSI_PROW_TEST_DRIVER=<file name> as
 # environment variable, then it must write a suitable test driver configuration
 # into that file in addition to installing the driver.
-configvar CSI_PROW_DRIVER_VERSION "v1.11.0" "CSI driver version"
+configvar CSI_PROW_DRIVER_VERSION "v1.12.0" "CSI driver version"
 configvar CSI_PROW_DRIVER_REPO https://github.com/kubernetes-csi/csi-driver-host-path "CSI driver repo"
 configvar CSI_PROW_DEPLOYMENT "" "deployment"
 configvar CSI_PROW_DEPLOYMENT_SUFFIX "" "additional suffix in kubernetes-x.yy[suffix].yaml files"
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ configvar CSI_PROW_SIDECAR_E2E_IMPORT_PATH "none" "CSI Sidecar E2E package"
 # of the cluster. The alternative would have been to (cross-)compile csi-sanity
 # and install it inside the cluster, which is not necessarily easier.
 configvar CSI_PROW_SANITY_REPO https://github.com/kubernetes-csi/csi-test "csi-test repo"
-configvar CSI_PROW_SANITY_VERSION v5.0.0 "csi-test version"
+configvar CSI_PROW_SANITY_VERSION v5.2.0 "csi-test version"
 configvar CSI_PROW_SANITY_PACKAGE_PATH github.com/kubernetes-csi/csi-test "csi-test package"
 configvar CSI_PROW_SANITY_SERVICE "hostpath-service" "Kubernetes TCP service name that exposes csi.sock"
 configvar CSI_PROW_SANITY_POD "csi-hostpathplugin-0" "Kubernetes pod with CSI driver"
@@ -564,7 +564,15 @@ go_version_for_kubernetes () (
     local version="$2"
     local go_version
 
-    # We use the minimal Go version specified for each K8S release (= minimum_go_version in hack/lib/golang.sh).
+    # Try to get the version for .go-version
+    go_version="$( cat "$path/.go-version" )"
+    if [ "$go_version" ]; then
+        echo "$go_version"
+        return
+    fi
+
+    # Fall back to hack/lib/golang.sh parsing.
+    # This is necessary in v1.26.0 and older Kubernetes releases that do not have .go-version.
     # More recent versions might also work, but we don't want to count on that.
     go_version="$(grep minimum_go_version= "$path/hack/lib/golang.sh" | sed -e 's/.*=go//')"
     if ! [ "$go_version" ]; then
diff --git a/release-tools/pull-test.sh b/release-tools/pull-test.sh
index b019c17762..5ea051eca3 100755
--- a/release-tools/pull-test.sh
+++ b/release-tools/pull-test.sh
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ CSI_RELEASE_TOOLS_DIR="$(pwd)"
 
 # Update the other repo.
 cd "$PULL_TEST_REPO_DIR"
+git reset --hard # Shouldn't be necessary, but somehow is to avoid "fatal: working tree has modifications.  Cannot add." (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3623351/git-subtree-pull-says-that-the-working-tree-has-modifications-but-git-status-sa)
 git subtree pull --squash --prefix=release-tools "$CSI_RELEASE_TOOLS_DIR" master
 git log -n2