* fix azure pv crash due to volumeSource.ReadOnly value nil ([#54607](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/54607), [@andyzhangx](https://github.com/andyzhangx))
* Fix an issue where pods were briefly transitioned to a "Pending" state during the deletion process. ([#54593](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/54593), [@dashpole](https://github.com/dashpole))

- PersistentVolumes have a new `LastPhaseTransitionTime` field which holds a timestamp of when the volume last transitioned its phase. ([#116469](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/116469), [@RomanBednar](https://github.com/RomanBednar))

* The apiregistration.k8s.io (aggregation) is now generally available. Users should transition from the v1beta1 API to the v1 API. ([#58393](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/58393), [@deads2k](https://github.com/deads2k))

* Fix an issue where pods were briefly transitioned to a "Pending" state during the deletion process. ([#54593](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/54593), [@dashpole](https://github.com/dashpole))

* The Kubelet's deprecated `--allow-privileged` flag now defaults to true. This enables users to stop setting `--allow-privileged` in order to transition to `PodSecurityPolicy`. Previously, users had to continue setting `--allow-privileged`, because the default was false. ([#63442](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/63442), [@mtaufen](https://github.com/mtaufen))

### Avoiding permanent beta

From Kubernetes 1.20 onwards, SIG Architecture will implement a new policy to transition all REST APIs out of beta within nine months. The idea behind the new policy is to avoid features staying in beta for a long time. Once a new API enters beta, it will have nine months to either:

 - Support for the seccomp annotations `seccomp.security.alpha.kubernetes.io/pod` and `container.seccomp.security.alpha.kubernetes.io/[name]` has been deprecated since 1.19, will be dropped in 1.25. Transition to using the `seccompProfile` API field. ([#104389](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/104389), [@saschagrunert](https://github.com/saschagrunert))

* Fix [transition between NotReady and Unreachable taints](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/43444). ([#44042](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/44042), [@gmarek](https://github.com/gmarek))

- The `--cidr-allocator-type` option set to `CloudAllocator` for `kube-controller-manager` will be deprecated and removed in a future release. Users are advised to transition to and explore the available options provided by their external cloud provider. ([#123011](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/123011), [@dims](https://github.com/dims))

* Support vSphere SAML token auth when using Zones ([#75515](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/75515), [@dougm](https://github.com/dougm))
* Transition service account controller clients to TokenRequest API ([#72179](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/72179), [@WanLinghao](https://github.com/WanLinghao))