- E2e framework: the `node-role.kubernetes.io/master` taint has been removed from the default value of `--non-blocking-taints` flag. You may need to set `--non-blocking-taints` explicitly if the cluster to be tested has nodes with the deprecated `node-role.kubernetes.io/master` taint. ([#118510](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/118510), [@SataQiu](https://github.com/SataQiu)) [SIG Testing]

- DRA: Device taints enable DRA drivers or admins to mark device as unusable, which prevents allocating them. Pods may also get evicted at runtime if a device becomes unusable, depending on the severity of the taint and whether the claim tolerates the taint. ([#130447](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/130447), [@pohly](https://github.com/pohly)) [SIG API Machinery, Apps,...

* fixes a panic applying json patches containing out of bounds operations ([#64355](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/64355), [@liggitt](https://github.com/liggitt))
* Fixed NoTaintMaster to remove master taint and keep all other applied taints.  ([#64986](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/64986), [@ashleyschuett](https://github.com/ashleyschuett))

- DRA: graduated device taints and tolerations (KEP #5055) to beta. Support for DeviceTaints in ResourceSlices is on by default. Support for DeviceTaintRules depends on enabling resource.k8s.io/v1beta2 and the DeviceTaintRules feature gate. ([#137170](https://github.com/kubern...

**Affected Versions**:
  - kube-apiserver v1.31.0 - v1.31.11
  - kube-apiserver v1.32.0 - v1.32.7
  - kube-apiserver v1.33.0 - v1.33.3

**Fixed Versions**:
  - kube-apiserver v1.31.12

* Only set sysctls for infra containers ([#32383](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/32383), [@sttts](https://github.com/sttts))
* fix kubectl taint e2e flake: add retries for removing taint ([#33872](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/33872), [@kevin-wangzefeng](https://github.com/kevin-wangzefeng))

  - The taint applied to control-plane nodes "node-role.kubernetes.io/master:NoSchedule" is now deprecated and will be removed in a future release after a GA deprecation period.
  - Apply toleration for a new, future taint "node-role.kubernetes.io/control-plane:NoSchedule" to the kubeadm CoreDNS / kube-dns managed manifests. Note that this taint is not yet applied to kubeadm control-plane nodes.

- Updated json representation for a conflicted taint to `Key=Effect` when a conflicted taint occurs in kubectl taint. ([#104011](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/104011), [@manugupt1](https://github.com/manugupt1))
- Upgrades functionality of `kubectl kustomize` as described at

- Kubeadm: removed the toleration for the `node-role.kubernetes.io/master` taint from the CoreDNS deployment of `kubeadm`. With the 1.25 release of kubeadm the taint `node-role.kubernetes.io/master` is no longer applied to control plane nodes and the toleration for it can be removed with the release of 1.26. You can also perform the same toleration removal from your own...

- Kubeadm: only taint control plane nodes when the legacy "master" taint is present. This avoids a bug where "kubeadm upgrade" will re-taint a control plane node with the new "control plane" taint even if the user explicitly untainted the node. ([#109841](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/109841), [@neolit123](https://github.com/neolit123)) [SIG...