diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-build-next-java.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-build-next-java.yml
index 882b39bc..9a97c472 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-build-next-java.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-build-next-java.yml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ jobs:
       cancel-in-progress: true
     steps:
       - name: Checkout the repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
       - name: Set up JDK 17
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-build.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-build.yml
index 8c09f7d9..1aa13657 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-build.yml
@@ -16,24 +16,16 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        exasol-docker-version: ["7.1.22"]
+        exasol-docker-version: ["7.1.23"]
     env:
-      DEFAULT_DOCKER_DB_VERSION: "7.1.22"
+      DEFAULT_DOCKER_DB_VERSION: "7.1.23"
     steps:
-      - name: Free Disk Space (Ubuntu)
-        uses: jlumbroso/free-disk-space@main
-        with:
-          tool-cache: false
-          android: true
-          dotnet: true
-          haskell: true
-          # temporary fix for https://github.com/jlumbroso/free-disk-space/issues/17
-          large-packages: false
-          docker-images: false
-          swap-storage: false
-
+      - name: Free Disk Space
+        run: |
+          sudo rm -rf /usr/local/lib/android
+          sudo rm -rf /usr/share/dotnet
       - name: Checkout the repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
       - name: Set up JDK 11 & 17
@@ -90,7 +82,7 @@ jobs:
               -DtrimStackTrace=false \
               -Dsonar.organization=exasol \
               -Dsonar.host.url=https://sonarcloud.io \
-              -Dsonar.login=$SONAR_TOKEN
+              -Dsonar.token=$SONAR_TOKEN
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           SONAR_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SONAR_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release_droid_prepare_original_checksum.yml b/.github/workflows/release_droid_prepare_original_checksum.yml
index a0bc6996..8a260282 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release_droid_prepare_original_checksum.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release_droid_prepare_original_checksum.yml
@@ -3,15 +3,16 @@ name: Release Droid - Prepare Original Checksum
 on:
   workflow_dispatch:
 
-env:
-  DEFAULT_DOCKER_DB_VERSION: "7.1.22"
-
 jobs:
   build:
     runs-on: ubuntu-20.04 # UDFs fail with "VM error: Internal error: VM crashed" on ubuntu-latest
     steps:
+      - name: Free Disk Space
+        run: |
+          sudo rm -rf /usr/local/lib/android
+          sudo rm -rf /usr/share/dotnet
       - name: Checkout the repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
       - name: Set up JDK 11
@@ -27,11 +28,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Enable testcontainer reuse
         run: echo 'testcontainers.reuse.enable=true' > "$HOME/.testcontainers.properties"
       - name: Run tests and build with Maven
-        run: |
-          mvn --batch-mode clean verify --file pom.xml \
-              -Dorg.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.org.apache.maven.cli.transfer.Slf4jMavenTransferListener=warn \
-              -DtrimStackTrace=false \
-              -Dcom.exasol.dockerdb.image=${{ env.DEFAULT_DOCKER_DB_VERSION }}
+        run: mvn --batch-mode clean verify --file pom.xml
       - name: Prepare checksum
         run: find target -maxdepth 1 -name *.jar -exec sha256sum "{}" + > original_checksum
       - name: Upload checksum to the artifactory
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release_droid_upload_github_release_assets.yml b/.github/workflows/release_droid_upload_github_release_assets.yml
index 665e16f4..1c35bc93 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release_droid_upload_github_release_assets.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release_droid_upload_github_release_assets.yml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ on:
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       upload_url:
-        description: 'Assets upload URL'
+        description: "Assets upload URL"
         required: true
 
 jobs:
@@ -12,15 +12,15 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout the repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
       - name: Set up JDK 11
         uses: actions/setup-java@v3
         with:
-          distribution: 'temurin'
+          distribution: "temurin"
           java-version: 11
-          cache: 'maven'
+          cache: "maven"
       - name: Build with Maven skipping tests
         run: mvn --batch-mode clean verify -DskipTests
       - name: Generate sha256sum files
diff --git a/doc/changes/changes_2.7.4.md b/doc/changes/changes_2.7.4.md
index 2e5db6be..d290fbaf 100644
--- a/doc/changes/changes_2.7.4.md
+++ b/doc/changes/changes_2.7.4.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Cloud Storage Extension 2.7.4, released 2023-09-29
+# Cloud Storage Extension 2.7.4, released 2023-10-04
 
 Code name: Upgrade Dependencies
 
diff --git a/src/test/scala/com/exasol/cloudetl/it/BaseIntegrationTest.scala b/src/test/scala/com/exasol/cloudetl/it/BaseIntegrationTest.scala
index 1c16b71d..75dddbc9 100644
--- a/src/test/scala/com/exasol/cloudetl/it/BaseIntegrationTest.scala
+++ b/src/test/scala/com/exasol/cloudetl/it/BaseIntegrationTest.scala
@@ -15,11 +15,10 @@ import org.scalatest.funsuite.AnyFunSuite
 
 trait BaseIntegrationTest extends AnyFunSuite with BeforeAndAfterAll with LazyLogging {
   private[this] val JAR_NAME_PATTERN = "exasol-cloud-storage-extension-"
-  private[this] val DEFAULT_EXASOL_DOCKER_IMAGE = "7.1.22"
 
   val network = DockerNamedNetwork("it-tests", true)
   val exasolContainer = {
-    val c: ExasolContainer[_] = new ExasolContainer(DEFAULT_EXASOL_DOCKER_IMAGE)
+    val c: ExasolContainer[_] = new ExasolContainer()
     c.withNetwork(network)
     c.withReuse(true)
     c