diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index c9bb023a76e980a1e01df3d92e3c4013d5b7f361..a0dd9f4661ca2595becc896be4af8ab519d92aee 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-12.8.7
+12.9.0-rc42