diff --git a/backend/go.mod b/backend/go.mod
index 0d9a3d5e38e..72b8abb1dff 100644
--- a/backend/go.mod
+++ b/backend/go.mod
@@ -15,15 +15,15 @@ require (
 	github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1
 	github.com/rs/zerolog v1.33.0
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.11.1
-	golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.35.0
+	golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.36.0
 	helm.sh/helm/v3 v3.20.2
-	k8s.io/api v0.35.1
-	k8s.io/apimachinery v0.35.1
-	k8s.io/cli-runtime v0.35.1
-	k8s.io/client-go v0.35.1
+	k8s.io/api v0.35.3
+	k8s.io/apimachinery v0.35.3
+	k8s.io/cli-runtime v0.35.3
+	k8s.io/client-go v0.35.3
 	k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20250910181357-589584f1c912 // indirect
-	k8s.io/kubectl v0.35.1 // indirect
-	k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20251002143259-bc988d571ff4
+	k8s.io/kubectl v0.35.3 // indirect
+	k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20260210185600-b8788abfbbc2
 	sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.6.0
 )
 
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ require (
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.43.0
 	golang.org/x/term v0.41.0
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.4.0
-	k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.130.1
+	k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.140.0
 )
 
 require (
@@ -158,13 +158,13 @@ require (
 	gopkg.in/evanphx/json-patch.v4 v4.13.0 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/inf.v0 v0.9.1 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 // indirect
-	k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.35.1 // indirect
-	k8s.io/apiserver v0.35.1 // indirect
-	k8s.io/component-base v0.35.1 // indirect
+	k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.35.3 // indirect
+	k8s.io/apiserver v0.35.3 // indirect
+	k8s.io/component-base v0.35.3 // indirect
 	oras.land/oras-go/v2 v2.6.0 // indirect
 	sigs.k8s.io/json v0.0.0-20250730193827-2d320260d730 // indirect
 	sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/api v0.20.1 // indirect
 	sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml v0.20.1 // indirect
 	sigs.k8s.io/randfill v1.0.0 // indirect
-	sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.0 // indirect
+	sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.2 // indirect
 )
diff --git a/backend/go.sum b/backend/go.sum
index f7f787f85dc..8f8d952eed5 100644
--- a/backend/go.sum
+++ b/backend/go.sum
@@ -616,8 +616,8 @@ golang.org/x/net v0.52.0/go.mod h1:R1MAz7uMZxVMualyPXb+VaqGSa3LIaUqk0eEt3w36Sw=
 golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.0.0-20180821212333-d2e6202438be/go.mod h1:N/0e6XlmueqKjAGxoOufVs8QHGRruUQn6yWY3a++T0U=
 golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.0.0-20190226205417-e64efc72b421/go.mod h1:gOpvHmFTYa4IltrdGE7lF6nIHvwfUNPOp7c8zoXwtLw=
 golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.0.0-20200107190931-bf48bf16ab8d/go.mod h1:gOpvHmFTYa4IltrdGE7lF6nIHvwfUNPOp7c8zoXwtLw=
-golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.35.0 h1:Mv2mzuHuZuY2+bkyWXIHMfhNdJAdwW3FuWeCPYN5GVQ=
-golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.35.0/go.mod h1:lzm5WQJQwKZ3nwavOZ3IS5Aulzxi68dUSgRHujetwEA=
+golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.36.0 h1:peZ/1z27fi9hUOFCAZaHyrpWG5lwe0RJEEEeH0ThlIs=
+golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.36.0/go.mod h1:YDBUJMTkDnJS+A4BP4eZBjCqtokkg1hODuPjwiGPO7Q=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.0.0-20180314180146-1d60e4601c6f/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.0.0-20181108010431-42b317875d0f/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.0.0-20181221193216-37e7f081c4d4/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
@@ -762,28 +762,28 @@ helm.sh/helm/v3 v3.20.2 h1:binM4rvPx5DcNsa1sIt7UZi55lRbu3pZUFmQkSoRh48=
 helm.sh/helm/v3 v3.20.2/go.mod h1:Fl1kBaWCpkUrM6IYXPjQ3bdZQfFrogKArqptvueZ6Ww=
 honnef.co/go/tools v0.0.0-20190102054323-c2f93a96b099/go.mod h1:rf3lG4BRIbNafJWhAfAdb/ePZxsR/4RtNHQocxwk9r4=
 honnef.co/go/tools v0.0.0-20190523083050-ea95bdfd59fc/go.mod h1:rf3lG4BRIbNafJWhAfAdb/ePZxsR/4RtNHQocxwk9r4=
-k8s.io/api v0.35.1 h1:0PO/1FhlK/EQNVK5+txc4FuhQibV25VLSdLMmGpDE/Q=
-k8s.io/api v0.35.1/go.mod h1:28uR9xlXWml9eT0uaGo6y71xK86JBELShLy4wR1XtxM=
-k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.35.1 h1:p5vvALkknlOcAqARwjS20kJffgzHqwyQRM8vHLwgU7w=
-k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.35.1/go.mod h1:2CN4fe1GZ3HMe4wBr25qXyJnJyZaquy4nNlNmb3R7AQ=
-k8s.io/apimachinery v0.35.1 h1:yxO6gV555P1YV0SANtnTjXYfiivaTPvCTKX6w6qdDsU=
-k8s.io/apimachinery v0.35.1/go.mod h1:jQCgFZFR1F4Ik7hvr2g84RTJSZegBc8yHgFWKn//hns=
-k8s.io/apiserver v0.35.1 h1:potxdhhTL4i6AYAa2QCwtlhtB1eCdWQFvJV6fXgJzxs=
-k8s.io/apiserver v0.35.1/go.mod h1:BiL6Dd3A2I/0lBnteXfWmCFobHM39vt5+hJQd7Lbpi4=
-k8s.io/cli-runtime v0.35.1 h1:uKcXFe8J7AMAM4Gm2JDK4mp198dBEq2nyeYtO+JfGJE=
-k8s.io/cli-runtime v0.35.1/go.mod h1:55/hiXIq1C8qIJ3WBrWxEwDLdHQYhBNRdZOz9f7yvTw=
-k8s.io/client-go v0.35.1 h1:+eSfZHwuo/I19PaSxqumjqZ9l5XiTEKbIaJ+j1wLcLM=
-k8s.io/client-go v0.35.1/go.mod h1:1p1KxDt3a0ruRfc/pG4qT/3oHmUj1AhSHEcxNSGg+OA=
-k8s.io/component-base v0.35.1 h1:XgvpRf4srp037QWfGBLFsYMUQJkE5yMa94UsJU7pmcE=
-k8s.io/component-base v0.35.1/go.mod h1:HI/6jXlwkiOL5zL9bqA3en1Ygv60F03oEpnuU1G56Bs=
-k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.130.1 h1:n9Xl7H1Xvksem4KFG4PYbdQCQxqc/tTUyrgXaOhHSzk=
-k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.130.1/go.mod h1:3Jpz1GvMt720eyJH1ckRHK1EDfpxISzJ7I9OYgaDtPE=
+k8s.io/api v0.35.3 h1:pA2fiBc6+N9PDf7SAiluKGEBuScsTzd2uYBkA5RzNWQ=
+k8s.io/api v0.35.3/go.mod h1:9Y9tkBcFwKNq2sxwZTQh1Njh9qHl81D0As56tu42GA4=
+k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.35.3 h1:2fQUhEO7P17sijylbdwt0nBdXP0TvHrHj0KeqHD8FiU=
+k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.35.3/go.mod h1:tK4Kz58ykRpwAEkXUb634HD1ZAegEElktz/B3jgETd8=
+k8s.io/apimachinery v0.35.3 h1:MeaUwQCV3tjKP4bcwWGgZ/cp/vpsRnQzqO6J6tJyoF8=
+k8s.io/apimachinery v0.35.3/go.mod h1:jQCgFZFR1F4Ik7hvr2g84RTJSZegBc8yHgFWKn//hns=
+k8s.io/apiserver v0.35.3 h1:D2eIcfJ05hEAEewoSDg+05e0aSRwx8Y4Agvd/wiomUI=
+k8s.io/apiserver v0.35.3/go.mod h1:JI0n9bHYzSgIxgIrfe21dbduJ9NHzKJ6RchcsmIKWKY=
+k8s.io/cli-runtime v0.35.3 h1:UZq4ipNimtzBmhN7PPKbfAdqo8quK0H0UdGl6qAQnqI=
+k8s.io/cli-runtime v0.35.3/go.mod h1:O7MUmCqcKSd5xI+O5X7/pRkB5l0O2NIhOdUVwbHLXu4=
+k8s.io/client-go v0.35.3 h1:s1lZbpN4uI6IxeTM2cpdtrwHcSOBML1ODNTCCfsP1pg=
+k8s.io/client-go v0.35.3/go.mod h1:RzoXkc0mzpWIDvBrRnD+VlfXP+lRzqQjCmKtiwZ8Q9c=
+k8s.io/component-base v0.35.3 h1:mbKbzoIMy7JDWS/wqZobYW1JDVRn/RKRaoMQHP9c4P0=
+k8s.io/component-base v0.35.3/go.mod h1:IZ8LEG30kPN4Et5NeC7vjNv5aU73ku5MS15iZyvyMYk=
+k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.140.0 h1:Tf+J3AH7xnUzZyVVXhTgGhEKnFqye14aadWv7bzXdzc=
+k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.140.0/go.mod h1:o+/RWfJ6PwpnFn7OyAG3QnO47BFsymfEfrz6XyYSSp0=
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20250910181357-589584f1c912 h1:Y3gxNAuB0OBLImH611+UDZcmKS3g6CthxToOb37KgwE=
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20250910181357-589584f1c912/go.mod h1:kdmbQkyfwUagLfXIad1y2TdrjPFWp2Q89B3qkRwf/pQ=
-k8s.io/kubectl v0.35.1 h1:zP3Er8C5i1dcAFUMh9Eva0kVvZHptXIn/+8NtRWMxwg=
-k8s.io/kubectl v0.35.1/go.mod h1:cQ2uAPs5IO/kx8R5s5J3Ihv3VCYwrx0obCXum0CvnXo=
-k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20251002143259-bc988d571ff4 h1:SjGebBtkBqHFOli+05xYbK8YF1Dzkbzn+gDM4X9T4Ck=
-k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20251002143259-bc988d571ff4/go.mod h1:OLgZIPagt7ERELqWJFomSt595RzquPNLL48iOWgYOg0=
+k8s.io/kubectl v0.35.3 h1:1KqSYXk/sodU7VeDvK6atX2kAGUZd2QTeR5K7Hb9r9w=
+k8s.io/kubectl v0.35.3/go.mod h1:GPHxZqRe+u/i3gTBoVQHeIyq2NilfNPj9hDWeuN3x5s=
+k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20260210185600-b8788abfbbc2 h1:AZYQSJemyQB5eRxqcPky+/7EdBj0xi3g0ZcxxJ7vbWU=
+k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20260210185600-b8788abfbbc2/go.mod h1:xDxuJ0whA3d0I4mf/C4ppKHxXynQ+fxnkmQH0vTHnuk=
 oras.land/oras-go/v2 v2.6.0 h1:X4ELRsiGkrbeox69+9tzTu492FMUu7zJQW6eJU+I2oc=
 oras.land/oras-go/v2 v2.6.0/go.mod h1:magiQDfG6H1O9APp+rOsvCPcW1GD2MM7vgnKY0Y+u1o=
 sigs.k8s.io/json v0.0.0-20250730193827-2d320260d730 h1:IpInykpT6ceI+QxKBbEflcR5EXP7sU1kvOlxwZh5txg=
@@ -794,8 +794,8 @@ sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml v0.20.1 h1:PCMnA2mrVbRP3NIB6v9kYCAc38uvFLVs8j/CD567A
 sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml v0.20.1/go.mod h1:0EmkQHRUsJxY8Ug9Niig1pUMSCGHxQ5RklbpV/Ri6po=
 sigs.k8s.io/randfill v1.0.0 h1:JfjMILfT8A6RbawdsK2JXGBR5AQVfd+9TbzrlneTyrU=
 sigs.k8s.io/randfill v1.0.0/go.mod h1:XeLlZ/jmk4i1HRopwe7/aU3H5n1zNUcX6TM94b3QxOY=
-sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.0 h1:jTijUJbW353oVOd9oTlifJqOGEkUw2jB/fXCbTiQEco=
-sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.0/go.mod h1:M3W8sfWvn2HhQDIbGWj3S099YozAsymCo/wrT5ohRUE=
+sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.2 h1:kwVWMx5yS1CrnFWA/2QHyRVJ8jM6dBA80uLmm0wJkk8=
+sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.2/go.mod h1:M3W8sfWvn2HhQDIbGWj3S099YozAsymCo/wrT5ohRUE=
 sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.2.0/go.mod h1:yfXDCHCao9+ENCvLSE62v9VSji2MKu5jeNfTrofGhJc=
 sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.6.0 h1:G8fkbMSAFqgEFgh4b1wmtzDnioxFCUgTZhlbj5P9QYs=
 sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.6.0/go.mod h1:796bPqUfzR/0jLAl6XjHl3Ck7MiyVv8dbTdyT3/pMf4=
diff --git a/backend/pkg/kubeconfig/watcher.go b/backend/pkg/kubeconfig/watcher.go
index dc48b47c0f8..ed9c405470d 100644
--- a/backend/pkg/kubeconfig/watcher.go
+++ b/backend/pkg/kubeconfig/watcher.go
@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"slices"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify"
 	"github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/backend/pkg/logger"
-	"k8s.io/utils/strings/slices"
 )
 
 const watchInterval = 10 * time.Second