diff --git a/mlrun/config.py b/mlrun/config.py
index 60d61c85a30..00e58a809b6 100644
--- a/mlrun/config.py
+++ b/mlrun/config.py
@@ -443,7 +443,7 @@
             # pip install <requirement_specifier>, e.g. mlrun==0.5.4, mlrun~=0.5,
             # git+https://github.com/mlrun/mlrun@development. by default uses the version
             "mlrun_version_specifier": "",
-            "kaniko_image": "gcr.io/kaniko-project/executor:v1.8.0",  # kaniko builder image
+            "kaniko_image": "gcr.io/kaniko-project/executor:v1.21.1",  # kaniko builder image
             "kaniko_init_container_image": "alpine:3.18",
             # image for kaniko init container when docker registry is ECR
             "kaniko_aws_cli_image": "amazon/aws-cli:2.7.10",