diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index fd29efe..2b5ae24 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -141,15 +141,7 @@ RUN find / -perm /6000 -type f -exec chmod a-s {} \; || true
 
 # GeoServer user => restrict access to $CATALINA_HOME and GeoServer directories
 # See also CIS Docker benchmark and docker best practices
-RUN chmod +x /opt/*.sh \
-    && groupadd geoserver  \
-    && useradd --no-log-init -u 2000 -r -g geoserver geoserver \
-    && chown -R geoserver:geoserver $CATALINA_HOME \
-    && chmod g-w,o-rwx $CATALINA_HOME \
-    && chown -R geoserver:geoserver $GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR \
-    && chown -R geoserver:geoserver $GEOSERVER_LIB_DIR
-
-USER geoserver
+RUN chmod +x /opt/*.sh
 
 ENV WEBAPP_CONTEXT=geoserver
 ENV HEALTHCHECK_URL=''
diff --git a/build/release.sh b/build/release.sh
index 99a5c5e..a946b43 100755
--- a/build/release.sh
+++ b/build/release.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # error out if any statements fail
 set -e
 
-MAIN="2.25"
+MAIN="2.26"
 
 function usage() {
   echo "$0 <mode> <version> [<build>]"