diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 4cda8f19e..8af85beb5 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.5.2
+1.5.3
diff --git a/cmd/utils/version.go b/cmd/utils/version.go
index 1fd8a17db..05dd257fc 100644
--- a/cmd/utils/version.go
+++ b/cmd/utils/version.go
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@ import (
 const (
 	VersionMajor = 1          // Major version component of the current release
 	VersionMinor = 5          // Minor version component of the current release
-	VersionPatch = 2          // Patch version component of the current release
-	VersionMeta  = "stable"   // Version metadata to append to the version string
+	VersionPatch = 3          // Patch version component of the current release
+	VersionMeta  = "unstable" // Version metadata to append to the version string
 )
 
 // Version holds the textual version string.