"relnote-actions call-to-action"><a class=entry href=/v1.26/news/releases/1.18.x/announcing-1.18/upgrade-notes/><h5>BEFORE YOU UPGRADE</h5><p>Things to know and prepare before upgrading.</p></a><a class="update-notice entry" data-title='Update Notice' data-downloadhref=https://github.com/istio/istio/releases/tag/1.18.5 data-downloadbuttontext="DOWNLOAD 1.18.5" data-updateadvice="Before you download 1.18.5, you should know that there's a newer patch release with the latest bug fixes and perf improvements." d