diff --git a/cmd/krel/cmd/release_notes.go b/cmd/krel/cmd/release_notes.go
index c7d02cd3c94..882f3b80e41 100644
--- a/cmd/krel/cmd/release_notes.go
+++ b/cmd/krel/cmd/release_notes.go
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/blang/semver/v4"
+	gogit "github.com/go-git/go-git/v5"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"gopkg.in/yaml.v2"
@@ -121,18 +122,20 @@ permissions to your fork of k/sig-release and k-sigs/release-notes.`,
 }
 
 type releaseNotesOptions struct {
-	repoPath           string
-	tag                string
-	userFork           string
 	createDraftPR      bool
 	createWebsitePR    bool
 	fixNotes           bool
 	listReleaseNotesV2 bool
+	interactiveMode    bool
+	updateRepo         bool
+	useSSH             bool
+	repoPath           string
+	tag                string
+	userFork           string
 	websiteRepo        string
-	mapProviders       []string
 	githubOrg          string
 	draftRepo          string
-	interactiveMode    bool
+	mapProviders       []string
 }
 
 type releaseNotesResult struct {
@@ -220,6 +223,22 @@ func init() {
 		"interactive mode, ask before creating the PR",
 	)
 
+	releaseNotesCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(
+		&releaseNotesOpts.useSSH,
+		"use-ssh",
+		"",
+		true,
+		"use ssh to clone the repository, if false will use https (default: true)",
+	)
+
+	releaseNotesCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(
+		&releaseNotesOpts.updateRepo,
+		"update-repo",
+		"",
+		true,
+		"update the cloned repository to fetch any upstream change (default: true)",
+	)
+
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(releaseNotesCmd)
 }
 
@@ -348,10 +367,13 @@ func createDraftPR(repoPath, tag string) (err error) {
 	branchname := draftBranchPrefix + tag
 
 	// Prepare the fork of k/sig-release
+	opts := &gogit.CloneOptions{}
 	sigReleaseRepo, err := github.PrepareFork(
 		branchname,
 		git.DefaultGithubOrg, git.DefaultGithubReleaseRepo,
 		releaseNotesOpts.githubOrg, releaseNotesOpts.draftRepo,
+		releaseNotesOpts.useSSH, releaseNotesOpts.updateRepo,
+		opts,
 	)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("preparing local fork of kubernetes/sig-release: %w", err)
@@ -658,9 +680,13 @@ func createWebsitePR(repoPath, tag string) (err error) {
 	branchname := websiteBranchPrefix + tag
 
 	// checkout kubernetes-sigs/release-notes
+	opts := &gogit.CloneOptions{}
 	k8sSigsRepo, err := github.PrepareFork(
-		branchname, defaultKubernetesSigsOrg,
-		defaultKubernetesSigsRepo, releaseNotesOpts.githubOrg, releaseNotesOpts.websiteRepo,
+		branchname,
+		defaultKubernetesSigsOrg, defaultKubernetesSigsRepo,
+		releaseNotesOpts.githubOrg, releaseNotesOpts.websiteRepo,
+		releaseNotesOpts.useSSH, releaseNotesOpts.updateRepo,
+		opts,
 	)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("preparing local fork branch: %w", err)
@@ -767,8 +793,9 @@ func releaseNotesJSON(repoPath, tag string) (jsonString string, err error) {
 	}
 
 	logrus.Info("Cloning kubernetes/sig-release to read mapping files")
+	opts := &gogit.CloneOptions{}
 	sigReleaseRepo, err := git.CleanCloneGitHubRepo(
-		git.DefaultGithubOrg, git.DefaultGithubReleaseRepo, false,
+		git.DefaultGithubOrg, git.DefaultGithubReleaseRepo, false, true, opts,
 	)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("performing clone of k/sig-release: %w", err)
diff --git a/cmd/krel/cmd/sut_test.go b/cmd/krel/cmd/sut_test.go
index 2a901bdc7c5..1cd5ad1c341 100644
--- a/cmd/krel/cmd/sut_test.go
+++ b/cmd/krel/cmd/sut_test.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
+	gogit "github.com/go-git/go-git/v5"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 
 	"sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk/git"
@@ -107,7 +108,8 @@ func newSUT(t *testing.T) *sut {
 	repoDir := filepath.Join(tempDir, fmt.Sprintf("test-%d", now))
 	require.Nil(t, command.New("cp", "-r", baseDir, repoDir).RunSuccess())
 
-	repo, err := git.CloneOrOpenRepo(repoDir, url, false)
+	opts := &gogit.CloneOptions{}
+	repo, err := git.CloneOrOpenRepo(repoDir, url, false, false, opts)
 	require.Nil(t, err)
 
 	// Adapt the settings
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 4686d8cc48d..aaa096b7d56 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/goark/go-cvss v1.6.6
 	github.com/golang/protobuf v1.5.3
 	github.com/google/go-containerregistry v0.18.0
-	github.com/google/go-github/v56 v56.0.0
+	github.com/google/go-github/v58 v58.0.0
 	github.com/google/safetext v0.0.0-20230106111101-7156a760e523
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0
 	github.com/hashicorp/go-multierror v1.1.1
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ require (
 	sigs.k8s.io/bom v0.5.2-0.20230519223618-1ebaa9ce375f
 	sigs.k8s.io/mdtoc v1.1.0
 	sigs.k8s.io/promo-tools/v3 v3.6.0
-	sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk v0.10.5-0.20231219191353-f1467e0b1393
+	sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk v0.11.0
 	sigs.k8s.io/release-utils v0.7.7
 	sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.4.0
 )
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2 v2.2.2 // indirect
 	github.com/sigstore/fulcio v1.4.3 // indirect
 	github.com/sigstore/rekor v1.3.4 // indirect
-	github.com/sigstore/sigstore v1.8.0 // indirect
+	github.com/sigstore/sigstore v1.8.1 // indirect
 	github.com/sigstore/timestamp-authority v1.2.0 // indirect
 	github.com/skeema/knownhosts v1.2.1 // indirect
 	github.com/skratchdot/open-golang v0.0.0-20200116055534-eef842397966 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 83d4b2da32a..89b24af035a 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -484,8 +484,8 @@ github.com/google/go-containerregistry v0.18.0 h1:ShE7erKNPqRh5ue6Z9DUOlk04WsnFW
 github.com/google/go-containerregistry v0.18.0/go.mod h1:u0qB2l7mvtWVR5kNcbFIhFY1hLbf8eeGapA+vbFDCtQ=
 github.com/google/go-github/v55 v55.0.0 h1:4pp/1tNMB9X/LuAhs5i0KQAE40NmiR/y6prLNb9x9cg=
 github.com/google/go-github/v55 v55.0.0/go.mod h1:JLahOTA1DnXzhxEymmFF5PP2tSS9JVNj68mSZNDwskA=
-github.com/google/go-github/v56 v56.0.0 h1:TysL7dMa/r7wsQi44BjqlwaHvwlFlqkK8CtBWCX3gb4=
-github.com/google/go-github/v56 v56.0.0/go.mod h1:D8cdcX98YWJvi7TLo7zM4/h8ZTx6u6fwGEkCdisopo0=
+github.com/google/go-github/v58 v58.0.0 h1:Una7GGERlF/37XfkPwpzYJe0Vp4dt2k1kCjlxwjIvzw=
+github.com/google/go-github/v58 v58.0.0/go.mod h1:k4hxDKEfoWpSqFlc8LTpGd9fu2KrV1YAa6Hi6FmDNY4=
 github.com/google/go-querystring v1.1.0 h1:AnCroh3fv4ZBgVIf1Iwtovgjaw/GiKJo8M8yD/fhyJ8=
 github.com/google/go-querystring v1.1.0/go.mod h1:Kcdr2DB4koayq7X8pmAG4sNG59So17icRSOU623lUBU=
 github.com/google/gofuzz v1.0.0/go.mod h1:dBl0BpW6vV/+mYPU4Po3pmUjxk6FQPldtuIdl/M65Eg=
@@ -788,8 +788,8 @@ github.com/sigstore/fulcio v1.4.3 h1:9JcUCZjjVhRF9fmhVuz6i1RyhCc/EGCD7MOl+iqCJLQ
 github.com/sigstore/fulcio v1.4.3/go.mod h1:BQPWo7cfxmJwgaHlphUHUpFkp5+YxeJes82oo39m5og=
 github.com/sigstore/rekor v1.3.4 h1:RGIia1iOZU7fOiiP2UY/WFYhhp50S5aUm7YrM8aiA6E=
 github.com/sigstore/rekor v1.3.4/go.mod h1:1GubPVO2yO+K0m0wt/3SHFqnilr/hWbsjSOe7Vzxrlg=
-github.com/sigstore/sigstore v1.8.0 h1:sSRWXv1JiDsK4T2wNWVYcvKCgxcSrhQ/QUJxsfCO4OM=
-github.com/sigstore/sigstore v1.8.0/go.mod h1:l12B1gFlLIpBIVeqk/q1Lb+6YSOGNuN3xLExIjYH+qc=
+github.com/sigstore/sigstore v1.8.1 h1:mAVposMb14oplk2h/bayPmIVdzbq2IhCgy4g6R0ZSjo=
+github.com/sigstore/sigstore v1.8.1/go.mod h1:02SL1158BSj15bZyOFz7m+/nJzLZfFd9A8ab3Kz7w/E=
 github.com/sigstore/sigstore/pkg/signature/kms/aws v1.7.6 h1:WzZExOcFanrFfCi7SUgkBtJicWnSNziBD9nSSQIrqhc=
 github.com/sigstore/sigstore/pkg/signature/kms/aws v1.7.6/go.mod h1:3zOHOLHnCE6EXyVH+6Z/lC9O1RDsbmR045NQ1DogiHw=
 github.com/sigstore/sigstore/pkg/signature/kms/azure v1.7.6 h1:wsPt9kNXF1ZZyae2wO35NLsK+cjWqPGpuPaDdXzRe0g=
@@ -1408,8 +1408,8 @@ sigs.k8s.io/mdtoc v1.1.0 h1:q3YtqYzmC2e0hgLXRIOm7/QLuPux1CX3ZHCwlbABxZo=
 sigs.k8s.io/mdtoc v1.1.0/go.mod h1:QZLVEdHH2iNIR4uHAZyvFRtjloHgVItk8lo/mzCtq3w=
 sigs.k8s.io/promo-tools/v3 v3.6.0 h1:C2L08ezrWm1aZI8Emd3iZPZQserLPRgzuqQVxvI0PUI=
 sigs.k8s.io/promo-tools/v3 v3.6.0/go.mod h1:XJ3jy0hJYs+hWKt8XsLHFzGQV8PUtvllvbxjN/E5RXI=
-sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk v0.10.5-0.20231219191353-f1467e0b1393 h1:ND8yeGnbqxAaJtSF7pxBQWtoTgzlmfY+ASzjGUKbpgI=
-sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk v0.10.5-0.20231219191353-f1467e0b1393/go.mod h1:58XrlX6cvcQASB/0N6TEK6eGBYxDNx7k2skQoJNRxRI=
+sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk v0.11.0 h1:a+zjOO3tHm1NiVZgNcUWq5QrKmv7b63UZXw+XGdPGfk=
+sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk v0.11.0/go.mod h1:sjbFpskyVjCXcFBnI3Bj1iGQHGjDYPoHVyld/pT+TvU=
 sigs.k8s.io/release-utils v0.7.7 h1:JKDOvhCk6zW8ipEOkpTGDH/mW3TI+XqtPp16aaQ79FU=
 sigs.k8s.io/release-utils v0.7.7/go.mod h1:iU7DGVNi3umZJ8q6aHyUFzsDUIaYwNnNKGHo3YE5E3s=
 sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v4 v4.4.1 h1:150L+0vs/8DA78h1u02ooW1/fFq/Lwr+sGiqlzvrtq4=
diff --git a/pkg/anago/stage.go b/pkg/anago/stage.go
index e7bfd4625b0..5d339b097da 100644
--- a/pkg/anago/stage.go
+++ b/pkg/anago/stage.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/blang/semver/v4"
+	gogit "github.com/go-git/go-git/v5"
 	intoto "github.com/in-toto/in-toto-golang/in_toto"
 	slsa "github.com/in-toto/in-toto-golang/in_toto/slsa_provenance/v0.2"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
@@ -580,8 +581,9 @@ func (d *DefaultStage) GenerateChangelog() error {
 				"cloning fresh default repository for changelog",
 		)
 
+		opts := &gogit.CloneOptions{}
 		repo, err := git.CleanCloneGitHubRepo(
-			release.DefaultK8sOrg, release.DefaultK8sRepo, false,
+			release.DefaultK8sOrg, release.DefaultK8sRepo, false, true, opts,
 		)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("clone k/k repo: %w", err)
diff --git a/pkg/fastforward/fastforward_test.go b/pkg/fastforward/fastforward_test.go
index 3d1e7c801f3..225df9896fd 100644
--- a/pkg/fastforward/fastforward_test.go
+++ b/pkg/fastforward/fastforward_test.go
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
-	gogithub "github.com/google/go-github/v56/github"
+	gogithub "github.com/google/go-github/v58/github"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"k8s.io/release/pkg/fastforward/fastforwardfakes"
 )
diff --git a/pkg/fastforward/fastforwardfakes/fake_impl.go b/pkg/fastforward/fastforwardfakes/fake_impl.go
index bfd89446ded..71b7c9620c3 100644
--- a/pkg/fastforward/fastforwardfakes/fake_impl.go
+++ b/pkg/fastforward/fastforwardfakes/fake_impl.go
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ package fastforwardfakes
 import (
 	"sync"
 
-	"github.com/google/go-github/v56/github"
+	"github.com/google/go-github/v58/github"
 	"k8s.io/release/pkg/gcp/gcb"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk/git"
 )
diff --git a/pkg/fastforward/impl.go b/pkg/fastforward/impl.go
index cba4260520a..5cdf3bdbdb4 100644
--- a/pkg/fastforward/impl.go
+++ b/pkg/fastforward/impl.go
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/release/pkg/gcp/gcb"
 	"k8s.io/release/pkg/release"
 
-	gogithub "github.com/google/go-github/v56/github"
+	gogithub "github.com/google/go-github/v58/github"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk/git"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk/github"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/release-utils/env"
diff --git a/pkg/notes/notes.go b/pkg/notes/notes.go
index 98ca69de8c1..8d97f92960c 100644
--- a/pkg/notes/notes.go
+++ b/pkg/notes/notes.go
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 	"unicode"
 
-	gogithub "github.com/google/go-github/v56/github"
+	gogithub "github.com/google/go-github/v58/github"
 	"github.com/nozzle/throttler"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"golang.org/x/text/cases"
diff --git a/pkg/notes/notes_gatherer_test.go b/pkg/notes/notes_gatherer_test.go
index 75c8e026c9f..a75633cf4f8 100644
--- a/pkg/notes/notes_gatherer_test.go
+++ b/pkg/notes/notes_gatherer_test.go
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ import (
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
 
-	"github.com/google/go-github/v56/github"
+	"github.com/google/go-github/v58/github"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk/git"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/release-sdk/github/githubfakes"
diff --git a/pkg/notes/options/options_test.go b/pkg/notes/options/options_test.go
index 63054819800..74a59dbb9f6 100644
--- a/pkg/notes/options/options_test.go
+++ b/pkg/notes/options/options_test.go
@@ -206,7 +206,8 @@ func newTestRepo(t *testing.T) *testRepo {
 	require.Nil(t, os.RemoveAll(cloneTempDir))
 
 	// Provide a system under test inside the test repo
-	sut, err := kgit.CloneOrOpenRepo("", bareTempDir, false)
+	opts := &git.CloneOptions{}
+	sut, err := kgit.CloneOrOpenRepo("", bareTempDir, false, false, opts)
 	require.Nil(t, err)
 	require.Nil(t, command.NewWithWorkDir(
 		sut.Dir(), "git", "checkout", branchName,