diff --git a/.golangci.yaml b/.golangci.yaml
index 190190d..751a856 100644
--- a/.golangci.yaml
+++ b/.golangci.yaml
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ run:
   # Define the Go version limit.
   # Mainly related to generics support since go1.18.
   # Default: use Go version from the go.mod file, fallback on the env var `GOVERSION`, fallback on 1.17
-  go: "1.26.0"
+  go: "1.26.1"
 
 linters:
   # Enable specific linter
diff --git a/.pre-commit/golangci-lint-hook b/.pre-commit/golangci-lint-hook
index 8c91ece..afad091 100755
--- a/.pre-commit/golangci-lint-hook
+++ b/.pre-commit/golangci-lint-hook
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ if [[ -f "${ROOT_DIR}/.project-settings.env" ]]; then
 	# shellcheck disable=SC1090
 	source "${ROOT_DIR}/.project-settings.env"
 fi
-GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION="${GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION:-v2.10.1}"
+GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION="${GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION:-v2.11.3}"
 
 # #######################################
 # Install dependencies to run the pre-commit hook
diff --git a/.pre-commit/unit-test-hook b/.pre-commit/unit-test-hook
index 56d91e1..395ba02 100755
--- a/.pre-commit/unit-test-hook
+++ b/.pre-commit/unit-test-hook
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ hook() {
 	local root_dir
 	root_dir=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
 
-	local toolchain_version="1.26.0"
+	local toolchain_version="1.26.1"
 	if [[ -f "${root_dir}/.project-settings.env" ]]; then
 		# shellcheck disable=SC1090
 		source "${root_dir}/.project-settings.env"
diff --git a/.project-settings.env b/.project-settings.env
index f59b124..c6e8a86 100644
--- a/.project-settings.env
+++ b/.project-settings.env
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION=v2.10.1
-BUF_VERSION=v1.66.0
-GO_VERSION=1.26.0
+GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION=v2.11.3
+BUF_VERSION=v1.66.1
+GO_VERSION=1.26.1
 GCI_PREFIX=github.com/hyp3rd/hypercache
 PROTO_ENABLED=false
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 98d866c..42400d7 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 include .project-settings.env
 
-GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION ?= v2.10.1
-BUF_VERSION ?= v1.66.0
-GO_VERSION ?= 1.26.0
+GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION ?= v2.11.3
+BUF_VERSION ?= v1.66.1
+GO_VERSION ?= 1.26.1
 GCI_PREFIX ?= github.com/hyp3rd/hypercache
 PROTO_ENABLED ?= true
 
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 2e5918e..a8cd18d 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 module github.com/hyp3rd/hypercache
 
-go 1.26.0
+go 1.26.1
 
 require (
 	github.com/cespare/xxhash/v2 v2.3.0
-	github.com/goccy/go-json v0.10.5
+	github.com/goccy/go-json v0.10.6
 	github.com/gofiber/fiber/v3 v3.1.0
 	github.com/hyp3rd/ewrap v1.3.7
 	github.com/hyp3rd/sectools v1.2.3
@@ -12,9 +12,9 @@ require (
 	github.com/redis/go-redis/v9 v9.18.0
 	github.com/shamaton/msgpack/v2 v2.4.0
 	github.com/ugorji/go/codec v1.3.1
-	go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.40.0
-	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.40.0
-	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.40.0
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.42.0
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.42.0
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.42.0
 )
 
 require (
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@ require (
 	github.com/valyala/bytebufferpool v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/valyala/fasthttp v1.69.0 // indirect
 	go.uber.org/atomic v1.11.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/crypto v0.48.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/net v0.51.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.41.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/text v0.34.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/crypto v0.49.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/net v0.52.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.42.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/text v0.35.0 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/check.v1 v1.0.0-20201130134442-10cb98267c6c // indirect
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 // indirect
 )
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 7e57c0d..a35d0c6 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ github.com/go-logr/logr v1.4.3 h1:CjnDlHq8ikf6E492q6eKboGOC0T8CDaOvkHCIg8idEI=
 github.com/go-logr/logr v1.4.3/go.mod h1:9T104GzyrTigFIr8wt5mBrctHMim0Nb2HLGrmQ40KvY=
 github.com/go-logr/stdr v1.2.2 h1:hSWxHoqTgW2S2qGc0LTAI563KZ5YKYRhT3MFKZMbjag=
 github.com/go-logr/stdr v1.2.2/go.mod h1:mMo/vtBO5dYbehREoey6XUKy/eSumjCCveDpRre4VKE=
-github.com/goccy/go-json v0.10.5 h1:Fq85nIqj+gXn/S5ahsiTlK3TmC85qgirsdTP/+DeaC4=
-github.com/goccy/go-json v0.10.5/go.mod h1:oq7eo15ShAhp70Anwd5lgX2pLfOS3QCiwU/PULtXL6M=
+github.com/goccy/go-json v0.10.6 h1:p8HrPJzOakx/mn/bQtjgNjdTcN+/S6FcG2CTtQOrHVU=
+github.com/goccy/go-json v0.10.6/go.mod h1:oq7eo15ShAhp70Anwd5lgX2pLfOS3QCiwU/PULtXL6M=
 github.com/gofiber/fiber/v3 v3.1.0 h1:1p4I820pIa+FGxfwWuQZ5rAyX0WlGZbGT6Hnuxt6hKY=
 github.com/gofiber/fiber/v3 v3.1.0/go.mod h1:n2nYQovvL9z3Too/FGOfgtERjW3GQcAUqgfoezGBZdU=
 github.com/gofiber/schema v1.7.0 h1:yNM+FNRZjyYEli9Ey0AXRBrAY9jTnb+kmGs3lJGPvKg=
@@ -84,23 +84,23 @@ github.com/zeebo/xxh3 v1.0.2 h1:xZmwmqxHZA8AI603jOQ0tMqmBr9lPeFwGg6d+xy9DC0=
 github.com/zeebo/xxh3 v1.0.2/go.mod h1:5NWz9Sef7zIDm2JHfFlcQvNekmcEl9ekUZQQKCYaDcA=
 go.opentelemetry.io/auto/sdk v1.2.1 h1:jXsnJ4Lmnqd11kwkBV2LgLoFMZKizbCi5fNZ/ipaZ64=
 go.opentelemetry.io/auto/sdk v1.2.1/go.mod h1:KRTj+aOaElaLi+wW1kO/DZRXwkF4C5xPbEe3ZiIhN7Y=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.40.0 h1:oA5YeOcpRTXq6NN7frwmwFR0Cn3RhTVZvXsP4duvCms=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.40.0/go.mod h1:IMb+uXZUKkMXdPddhwAHm6UfOwJyh4ct1ybIlV14J0g=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.40.0 h1:rcZe317KPftE2rstWIBitCdVp89A2HqjkxR3c11+p9g=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.40.0/go.mod h1:ib/crwQH7N3r5kfiBZQbwrTge743UDc7DTFVZrrXnqc=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.40.0 h1:WA4etStDttCSYuhwvEa8OP8I5EWu24lkOzp+ZYblVjw=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.40.0/go.mod h1:zeAhriXecNGP/s2SEG3+Y8X9ujcJOTqQ5RgdEJcawiA=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.42.0 h1:lSQGzTgVR3+sgJDAU/7/ZMjN9Z+vUip7leaqBKy4sho=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.42.0/go.mod h1:lJNsdRMxCUIWuMlVJWzecSMuNjE7dOYyWlqOXWkdqCc=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.42.0 h1:2jXG+3oZLNXEPfNmnpxKDeZsFI5o4J+nz6xUlaFdF/4=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.42.0/go.mod h1:RlUN/7vTU7Ao/diDkEpQpnz3/92J9ko05BIwxYa2SSI=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.42.0 h1:OUCgIPt+mzOnaUTpOQcBiM/PLQ/Op7oq6g4LenLmOYY=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.42.0/go.mod h1:f3K9S+IFqnumBkKhRJMeaZeNk9epyhnCmQh/EysQCdc=
 go.uber.org/atomic v1.11.0 h1:ZvwS0R+56ePWxUNi+Atn9dWONBPp/AUETXlHW0DxSjE=
 go.uber.org/atomic v1.11.0/go.mod h1:LUxbIzbOniOlMKjJjyPfpl4v+PKK2cNJn91OQbhoJI0=
-golang.org/x/crypto v0.48.0 h1:/VRzVqiRSggnhY7gNRxPauEQ5Drw9haKdM0jqfcCFts=
-golang.org/x/crypto v0.48.0/go.mod h1:r0kV5h3qnFPlQnBSrULhlsRfryS2pmewsg+XfMgkVos=
-golang.org/x/net v0.51.0 h1:94R/GTO7mt3/4wIKpcR5gkGmRLOuE/2hNGeWq/GBIFo=
-golang.org/x/net v0.51.0/go.mod h1:aamm+2QF5ogm02fjy5Bb7CQ0WMt1/WVM7FtyaTLlA9Y=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.49.0 h1:+Ng2ULVvLHnJ/ZFEq4KdcDd/cfjrrjjNSXNzxg0Y4U4=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.49.0/go.mod h1:ErX4dUh2UM+CFYiXZRTcMpEcN8b/1gxEuv3nODoYtCA=
+golang.org/x/net v0.52.0 h1:He/TN1l0e4mmR3QqHMT2Xab3Aj3L9qjbhRm78/6jrW0=
+golang.org/x/net v0.52.0/go.mod h1:R1MAz7uMZxVMualyPXb+VaqGSa3LIaUqk0eEt3w36Sw=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.6.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.41.0 h1:Ivj+2Cp/ylzLiEU89QhWblYnOE9zerudt9Ftecq2C6k=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.41.0/go.mod h1:OgkHotnGiDImocRcuBABYBEXf8A9a87e/uXjp9XT3ks=
-golang.org/x/text v0.34.0 h1:oL/Qq0Kdaqxa1KbNeMKwQq0reLCCaFtqu2eNuSeNHbk=
-golang.org/x/text v0.34.0/go.mod h1:homfLqTYRFyVYemLBFl5GgL/DWEiH5wcsQ5gSh1yziA=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.42.0 h1:omrd2nAlyT5ESRdCLYdm3+fMfNFE/+Rf4bDIQImRJeo=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.42.0/go.mod h1:4GL1E5IUh+htKOUEOaiffhrAeqysfVGipDYzABqnCmw=
+golang.org/x/text v0.35.0 h1:JOVx6vVDFokkpaq1AEptVzLTpDe9KGpj5tR4/X+ybL8=
+golang.org/x/text v0.35.0/go.mod h1:khi/HExzZJ2pGnjenulevKNX1W67CUy0AsXcNubPGCA=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405/go.mod h1:Co6ibVJAznAaIkqp8huTwlJQCZ016jof/cbN4VW5Yz0=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v1.0.0-20201130134442-10cb98267c6c h1:Hei/4ADfdWqJk1ZMxUNpqntNwaWcugrBjAiHlqqRiVk=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v1.0.0-20201130134442-10cb98267c6c/go.mod h1:JHkPIbrfpd72SG/EVd6muEfDQjcINNoR0C8j2r3qZ4Q=
diff --git a/internal/cluster/ring.go b/internal/cluster/ring.go
index 9c32e69..96b203b 100644
--- a/internal/cluster/ring.go
+++ b/internal/cluster/ring.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package cluster
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"sync"
 
@@ -77,7 +78,17 @@ func (r *Ring) Build(nodes []*Node) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	sort.Slice(vn, func(i, j int) bool { return vn[i].hash < vn[j].hash })
+	slices.SortFunc(vn, func(a, b vnode) int {
+		switch {
+		case a.hash < b.hash:
+			return -1
+		case a.hash > b.hash:
+			return 1
+		default:
+			return 0
+		}
+	})
+
 	r.mu.Lock()
 
 	r.vnodes = vn
diff --git a/pkg/backend/dist_memory.go b/pkg/backend/dist_memory.go
index b6acb36..e215209 100644
--- a/pkg/backend/dist_memory.go
+++ b/pkg/backend/dist_memory.go
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"hash/fnv"
 	"math/big"
 	"slices"
-	"sort"
+	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
@@ -307,7 +307,9 @@ func (dm *DistMemory) BuildMerkleTree() *MerkleTree { //nolint:ireturn
 		return &MerkleTree{ChunkSize: chunkSize}
 	}
 
-	sort.Slice(entries, func(i, j int) bool { return entries[i].k < entries[j].k })
+	slices.SortFunc(entries, func(a, b merkleKV) int {
+		return strings.Compare(a.k, b.k)
+	})
 
 	hasher := sha256.New()
 	buf := make([]byte, merkleVersionBytes)
@@ -1182,7 +1184,10 @@ func (dm *DistMemory) RemovePeer(address string) { //nolint:ireturn
 // sortedMerkleEntries returns merkle entries sorted by key.
 func (dm *DistMemory) sortedMerkleEntries() []merkleKV { //nolint:ireturn
 	entries := dm.merkleEntries()
-	sort.Slice(entries, func(i, j int) bool { return entries[i].k < entries[j].k })
+
+	slices.SortFunc(entries, func(a, b merkleKV) int {
+		return strings.Compare(a.k, b.k)
+	})
 
 	return entries
 }
diff --git a/pkg/backend/filters.go b/pkg/backend/filters.go
index 6524753..269a1a1 100644
--- a/pkg/backend/filters.go
+++ b/pkg/backend/filters.go
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 package backend
 
 import (
-	"sort"
+	"slices"
 
 	"github.com/hyp3rd/ewrap"
 
@@ -95,7 +95,16 @@ func (f sortByFilter) ApplyFilter(_ string, items []*cache.Item) ([]*cache.Item,
 		return nil, ewrap.Newf("invalid sort field: %s", f.field)
 	}
 
-	sort.Sort(sorter)
+	slices.SortFunc(items, func(a, b *cache.Item) int {
+		switch {
+		case sorter.less(a, b):
+			return -1
+		case sorter.less(b, a):
+			return 1
+		default:
+			return 0
+		}
+	})
 
 	return items, nil
 }