diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 4456da30..b3dbfb99 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -10,20 +10,24 @@ on:
 
 jobs:
   docker:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - arch: amd64
+            runner: ubuntu-24.04
+          - arch: arm64
+            runner: ubuntu-24.04-arm
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.runner }}
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v7
-      # Set up Docker Buildx for multi-arch support
       - name: Set up Docker Buildx
         uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v4
-      # Build multi-arch image
-      - name: Build Docker image (multi-arch)
-        run: |
-          docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 .
-      # Docker development
-      - name: Docker development
-        run: docker buildx build -f Dockerfile.brain.dev --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 .
+      - name: Build production image
+        run: docker buildx build --platform linux/${{ matrix.arch }} .
+      - name: Build development image
+        run: docker buildx build -f Dockerfile.brain.dev --platform linux/${{ matrix.arch }} .
   build:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
@@ -33,7 +37,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Setup Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@v7
         with:
-          node-version: 24
+          node-version: 24.22.1
 
       - name: Enable Corepack
         run: corepack enable
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 9149dfce..cd91d20f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -9,13 +9,23 @@ on:
 
 jobs:
   push-to-ghcr:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - arch: amd64
+            runner: ubuntu-24.04
+          - arch: arm64
+            runner: ubuntu-24.04-arm
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.runner }}
     permissions:
       contents: read
       packages: write
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ inputs.tag }}
 
       - name: Login to GHCR
         uses: docker/login-action@v4
@@ -24,30 +34,64 @@ jobs:
           username: ${{ github.repository_owner }}
           password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
-      # Set up Docker Buildx for multi-arch support
       - name: Set up Docker Buildx
         uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v4
 
-      # Build and push multi-arch Docker image
-      - name: Build and push Staking brain docker monorepo
+      - name: Build and push native image
         uses: docker/build-push-action@v7
         with:
+          context: .
           file: Dockerfile
           push: true
-          platforms: linux/amd64, linux/arm64
-          tags: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository_owner }}/staking-brain:${{ github.event.inputs.tag }}
+          platforms: linux/${{ matrix.arch }}
+          tags: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository_owner }}/staking-brain:build-${{ github.run_id }}-${{ github.run_attempt }}-${{ matrix.arch }}
+
+  publish-manifest:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    needs: push-to-ghcr
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      packages: write
+    steps:
+      - name: Login to GHCR
+        uses: docker/login-action@v4
+        with:
+          registry: ghcr.io
+          username: ${{ github.repository_owner }}
+          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v4
+
+      - name: Publish multi-platform image
+        env:
+          IMAGE: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository_owner }}/staking-brain
+          VERSION: ${{ inputs.tag }}
+          BUILD: build-${{ github.run_id }}-${{ github.run_attempt }}
+        run: |
+          docker buildx imagetools create \
+            --tag "$IMAGE:$VERSION" \
+            "$IMAGE:$BUILD-amd64" \
+            "$IMAGE:$BUILD-arm64"
 
   gh-release:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: push-to-ghcr
+    needs: publish-manifest
     permissions:
       contents: write
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ inputs.tag }}
 
       - name: Create Release
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           RELEASE_TAG: ${{ inputs.tag }}
-        run: gh release create "$RELEASE_TAG" --title "Release v$RELEASE_TAG" --prerelease --generate-notes
+        run: |
+          case "$RELEASE_TAG" in
+            *-*) release_flag=--prerelease ;;
+            *) release_flag=--latest ;;
+          esac
+          gh release create "$RELEASE_TAG" --verify-tag --title "Release v$RELEASE_TAG" "$release_flag" --generate-notes
diff --git a/.nvmrc b/.nvmrc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ce62013c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.nvmrc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+24.22.1
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index f520cc6c..07fb3425 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
-ARG DOCKER_IMAGE=node:24.21.0-alpine
+ARG DOCKER_IMAGE=node:24.22.1-alpine3.24
 
 # Build
 FROM ${DOCKER_IMAGE} AS build-stage
 
+RUN apk add --no-cache --upgrade ca-certificates ca-certificates-bundle && update-ca-certificates
+
 WORKDIR /app
 COPY package.json yarn.lock tsconfig.json .yarnrc.yml ./
 COPY packages packages
@@ -19,6 +21,8 @@ RUN yarn install --immutable && \
 # Production
 FROM ${DOCKER_IMAGE}
 ENV NODE_ENV=production
+RUN apk add --no-cache --upgrade ca-certificates ca-certificates-bundle && update-ca-certificates
+
 WORKDIR /app
 COPY ./packages/brain/tls ./tls
 
diff --git a/Dockerfile.brain.dev b/Dockerfile.brain.dev
index ebc21483..9dca83a3 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.brain.dev
+++ b/Dockerfile.brain.dev
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
-ARG DOCKER_IMAGE=node:24.21.0-alpine
+ARG DOCKER_IMAGE=node:24.22.1-alpine3.24
 FROM ${DOCKER_IMAGE} AS build-stage
 
+RUN apk add --no-cache --upgrade ca-certificates ca-certificates-bundle && update-ca-certificates
+
 ENV NODE_ENV=development
 WORKDIR /app
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index bf9ae995..49f6ea2d 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "type": "module",
   "private": true,
   "engines": {
-    "node": ">=24.11.0"
+    "node": ">=24.22.1"
   },
   "workspaces": [
     "packages/*"
diff --git a/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/brain/startBrainApi.ts b/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/brain/startBrainApi.ts
index 53094b6e..28e1059c 100644
--- a/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/brain/startBrainApi.ts
+++ b/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/brain/startBrainApi.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ export function startBrainApi({
   allowedOriginsFromEnv: string | string[] | null;
 }): http.Server {
   const app = express();
-  app.use(express.json());
+  app.use(express.json({ inflate: false }));
   app.use(cors({ origin: allowedOriginsFromEnv ?? allowedOrigins }));
 
   app.use(createBrainValidatorsRouter({ brainDb }));
diff --git a/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/launchpad/startLaunchpadApi.ts b/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/launchpad/startLaunchpadApi.ts
index 3bae4ca1..853ef314 100644
--- a/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/launchpad/startLaunchpadApi.ts
+++ b/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/launchpad/startLaunchpadApi.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ export function startLaunchpadApi({
   allowedOriginsFromEnv: string | string[] | null;
 }): http.Server {
   const app = express();
-  app.use(express.json({ limit: RPC_MAX_PAYLOAD_BYTES }));
+  app.use(express.json({ limit: RPC_MAX_PAYLOAD_BYTES, inflate: false }));
   app.use(cors({ origin: allowedOriginsFromEnv ?? allowedOrigins }));
 
   app.use(createKeystoresRouter({ reloadValidatorsCronTask, brainDb, network, validatorApi, signerApi, signerUrl }));
diff --git a/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/ui/startUiServer.ts b/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/ui/startUiServer.ts
index 35a3b5d1..74d53f2b 100644
--- a/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/ui/startUiServer.ts
+++ b/packages/brain/src/modules/apiServers/ui/startUiServer.ts
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ export function startUiServer({
       origin: allowedOriginsFromEnv ?? allowedOrigins(network)
     })
   );
-  app.use(express.json());
+  app.use(express.json({ inflate: false }));
   app.use(express.static(uiBuildPath));
   // path-to-regexp (used by express >=5.0.0) has a breaking change
   // where it does not allow to use wildcard among other characters
diff --git a/packages/brain/test/unit/modules/jsonBodyEncoding.unit.test.ts b/packages/brain/test/unit/modules/jsonBodyEncoding.unit.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c2e94600
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/brain/test/unit/modules/jsonBodyEncoding.unit.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+import { expect } from "chai";
+import sinon from "sinon";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import http from "node:http";
+import type { AddressInfo } from "node:net";
+import { once } from "node:events";
+import { brotliCompressSync } from "node:zlib";
+import { ConsensusClient, ExecutionClient, Network } from "@stakingbrain/common";
+import { startBrainApi } from "../../../src/modules/apiServers/brain/startBrainApi.js";
+import { startLaunchpadApi } from "../../../src/modules/apiServers/launchpad/startLaunchpadApi.js";
+import { startUiServer } from "../../../src/modules/apiServers/ui/startUiServer.js";
+import {
+  BeaconchainApi,
+  BlockExplorerApi,
+  PostgresClient,
+  ValidatorApi,
+  Web3SignerApi
+} from "../../../src/modules/apiClients/index.js";
+import { BrainDataBase } from "../../../src/modules/db/index.js";
+import { CronJob } from "../../../src/modules/cron/cron.js";
+import { params } from "../../../src/params.js";
+
+function postJson(server: http.Server, body: Buffer, encoding?: string): Promise<number> {
+  const address = server.address() as AddressInfo;
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const request = http.request(
+      {
+        hostname: "127.0.0.1",
+        port: address.port,
+        path: "/",
+        method: "POST",
+        headers: {
+          "Content-Type": "application/json",
+          "Content-Length": body.length,
+          ...(encoding ? { "Content-Encoding": encoding } : {})
+        }
+      },
+      (response) => {
+        response.resume();
+        response.on("end", () => resolve(response.statusCode!));
+        response.on("error", reject);
+      }
+    );
+    request.on("error", reject);
+    request.end(body);
+  });
+}
+
+describe("JSON request content encoding", () => {
+  const servers = new Map<string, http.Server>();
+  let directory: string;
+
+  before(async () => {
+    directory = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "stakingbrain-json-encoding-"));
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(directory, "index.html"), "<html><head></head><body></body></html>");
+    for (const port of ["brainPort", "launchpadPort", "uiPort"] as const) sinon.stub(params, port).value(0);
+    const brainDb = sinon.createStubInstance(BrainDataBase);
+    const validatorApi = sinon.createStubInstance(ValidatorApi);
+    const signerApi = sinon.createStubInstance(Web3SignerApi);
+    const beaconchainApi = sinon.createStubInstance(BeaconchainApi);
+    const reloadValidatorsCronTask = sinon.createStubInstance(CronJob);
+    const signerUrl = "http://127.0.0.1:1";
+    const allowedOriginsFromEnv = null;
+    servers.set("Brain", startBrainApi({ brainDb, allowedOriginsFromEnv }));
+    servers.set(
+      "Launchpad",
+      startLaunchpadApi({
+        brainDb,
+        validatorApi,
+        signerApi,
+        beaconchainApi,
+        reloadValidatorsCronTask,
+        signerUrl,
+        network: Network.Hoodi,
+        allowedOriginsFromEnv
+      })
+    );
+    servers.set(
+      "UI",
+      startUiServer({
+        brainDb,
+        validatorApi,
+        signerApi,
+        beaconchainApi,
+        reloadValidatorsCronTask,
+        blockExplorerApi: sinon.createStubInstance(BlockExplorerApi),
+        postgresClient: sinon.createStubInstance(PostgresClient),
+        uiBuildPath: directory,
+        allowedOriginsFromEnv,
+        brainConfig: {
+          chain: {
+            network: Network.Hoodi,
+            executionClient: ExecutionClient.Geth,
+            consensusClient: ConsensusClient.Teku,
+            isMevBoostSet: false,
+            minGenesisTime: 0,
+            secondsPerSlot: 12,
+            slotsPerEpoch: 32
+          },
+          apis: {
+            signerUrl,
+            validatorUrl: signerUrl,
+            beaconchainUrl: signerUrl,
+            executionClientUrl: signerUrl,
+            prometheusUrl: signerUrl,
+            dappmanagerUrl: signerUrl,
+            blockExplorerUrl: signerUrl,
+            postgresUrl: signerUrl,
+            token: "",
+            tlsCert: null,
+            host: "localhost",
+            cors: null
+          }
+        }
+      })
+    );
+    await Promise.all([...servers.values()].map((server) => once(server, "listening")));
+  });
+
+  after(async () => {
+    await Promise.all(
+      [...servers.values()].map(
+        (server) => new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => server.close((error) => (error ? reject(error) : resolve())))
+      )
+    );
+    sinon.restore();
+    fs.rmSync(directory, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  for (const name of ["Brain", "Launchpad", "UI"]) {
+    it(`${name} rejects Brotli-compressed JSON with HTTP 415`, async () => {
+      const body = brotliCompressSync(Buffer.from('{"probe":true}'));
+      expect(await postJson(servers.get(name)!, body, "br")).to.equal(415);
+    });
+
+    it(`${name} lets identity JSON reach routing`, async () => {
+      expect(await postJson(servers.get(name)!, Buffer.from('{"probe":true}'), "identity")).to.equal(404);
+    });
+  }
+});