* unlock to run at that function's completion, following the normal
    * golang lock/deferred-unlock pattern.
* Avoid creating new controller revisions for statefulsets when cache is stale ([#67039](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/67039), [@mortent](https://github.com/mortent))
* Add fallbacks to ARM API when getting empty node IP from Azure IMDS ([#69077](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/69077), [@feiskyer](https://github.com/feiskyer))

* fix incorrect error info when creating an azure file PVC failed ([#56550](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/56550), [@andyzhangx](https://github.com/andyzhangx))
* Retry 'connection refused' errors when setting up clusters on GCE. ([#57394](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/57394), [@mborsz](https://github.com/mborsz))

- Kubelet: Fix kubelet from panic after getting the wrong signal ([#98200](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/98200), [@wzshiming](https://github.com/wzshiming)) [SIG Node]
- Kubelet: Fix repeatedly acquiring the inhibit lock ([#98088](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/98088), [@wzshiming](https://github.com/wzshiming)) [SIG Node]

  linking directly to the master branch. This ensures that links reference a
  specific point in time, rather than a document that may change over time.
  
  See here for guidance on getting permanent links to files: https://help.github.com/en/articles/getting-permanent-links-to-files
  
  Please use the following format for linking documentation:
  - [KEP]: <link>
  - [Usage]: <link>
  - [Other doc]: <link>

### SIG Apps

- Fixed kubelet creating extra sandbox for pods with RestartPolicyOnFailure after all containers succeeded ([#92614](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/92614), [@tnqn](https://github.com/tnqn)) [SIG Node and Testing]

* Allow kubernetes components to react to SIGTERM signal and shutdown gracefully. ([#57756](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/57756), [@mborsz](https://github.com/mborsz))
* fix incorrect error info when creating an azure file PVC failed ([#56550](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/56550), [@andyzhangx](https://github.com/andyzhangx))

- Fix: resize Azure disk issue when it's in attached state ([#96705](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/96705), [@andyzhangx](https://github.com/andyzhangx)) [SIG Cloud Provider]
- Fixed kubelet creating extra sandbox for pods with RestartPolicyOnFailure after all containers succeeded ([#92614](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/92614), [@tnqn](https://github.com/tnqn)) [SIG Node and Testing]

### Bug or Regression

- Fixes a race condition in the iptables mode of kube-proxy in 1.27 and later
  that could result in some updates getting lost (e.g., when a service gets a
  new endpoint, the rules for the new endpoint might not be added until

* Support configuring the Azure load balancer idle connection timeout for services ([#66045](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/66045), [@cpuguy83](https://github.com/cpuguy83))
* Let service controller retry creating load balancer when persistUpdate failed due to conflict. ([#68087](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/68087), [@grayluck](https://github.com/grayluck))