diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..775de5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Gradle
+.gradle/
+build/
+!build/libs/*.jar
+
+# IDEs
+*.iml
+.idea/
+.vscode/
+
+# OS
+.DS_Store
diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index 1463b64..8e9c831 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -1,23 +1,31 @@
 plugins {
-	id 'org.springframework.boot' version '2.4.3'
-	id 'io.spring.dependency-management' version '1.0.11.RELEASE'
+	id 'org.springframework.boot' version '3.3.6'
+	id 'io.spring.dependency-management' version '1.1.5'
 	id 'java'
 }
 
 group = 'in.projecteka'
 version = '0.0.1-SNAPSHOT'
-sourceCompatibility = '11'
+sourceCompatibility = '17'
+
+// Override a few transitive versions flagged by CVEs
+// Tomcat: ensure a patched 10.1.x to address CVE-2025-24813
+ext["tomcat.version"] = '10.1.35'
+ext["snakeyaml.version"] = '2.2'
 
 repositories {
 	mavenCentral()
 }
 
 dependencies {
+
 	implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web'
-	implementation group: 'org.bouncycastle', name: 'bcprov-jdk15on', version: '1.66'
+	implementation group: 'org.bouncycastle', name: 'bcprov-jdk18on', version: '1.78.1'
+	implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator'
 	testImplementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-test'
 }
 
+
 test {
 	useJUnitPlatform()
 }
diff --git a/gradle.properties b/gradle.properties
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c722645
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gradle.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# Ensure Gradle Java Toolchains can auto-detect and auto-provision a compatible JDK
+org.gradle.java.installations.auto-download=true
+org.gradle.java.installations.auto-detect=true
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index 442d913..0d18421 100644
--- a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-6.8.3-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.8-bin.zip
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists