diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0b1409d9..cbeba53e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Calendar Versioning](https://calver.org/).
 
-## [25.08.0] - 2025-08-25
+## [25.08.1] - 2025-08-25
 
 **Upgrade Instructions:**
 * It's recommended to perform a full cluster upgrade as Base AMIs and other settings have been updated
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Calendar Versioning](https://calver.org/).
 * **Integration Tests**: Fixed auth token expiration errors, race conditions, and connection error handling in scheduler and vdc tests
 * **WAF Configuration**: Fixed WAF blocking legitimate file downloads
 * **Package Installation**: Fixed system and DCV package installation issues on RHEL/Rocky 9
+* **System Upgrade Determinism**: Only upgrade system packages on new eVDI machines.
 
 ### **📦 Updates**
 * **Core Dependencies**: Updated AWS CDK (2.1026.0), Python (3.13.7), Node (22.18.0), and related packages
diff --git a/IDEA_VERSION.txt b/IDEA_VERSION.txt
index c865c476..bab5e8e7 100644
--- a/IDEA_VERSION.txt
+++ b/IDEA_VERSION.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-25.08.0
+25.08.1
diff --git a/idea-admin-windows.ps1 b/idea-admin-windows.ps1
index d1d1bd98..3c453a84 100755
--- a/idea-admin-windows.ps1
+++ b/idea-admin-windows.ps1
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ function Verify-Command($type,$message,$command) {
 $IDEADevMode = if ($Env:IDEA_DEV_MODE) {$Env:IDEA_DEV_MODE} else {""}
 $VirtualEnv = if ($Env:VIRTUAL_ENV) {$Env:VIRTUAL_ENV} else {""}
 $ScriptDir = $PSScriptRoot
-$IDEARevision = if ($Env:IDEA_REVISION) {$Env:IDEA_REVISION} else {"v25.08.0"}
+$IDEARevision = if ($Env:IDEA_REVISION) {$Env:IDEA_REVISION} else {"v25.08.1"}
 $IDEADockerRepo = "public.ecr.aws/s5o2b4m0"
 $DocumentationError = "https://docs.idea-hpc.com"
 $AWSProfile = if ($Env:AWS_PROFILE) {$Env:AWS_PROFILE} else {"default"}
diff --git a/idea-admin.sh b/idea-admin.sh
index cca1a789..b3f26a65 100755
--- a/idea-admin.sh
+++ b/idea-admin.sh
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 # * IDEA_DEV_MODE - Set to "true" if you are working with IDEA sources
 
 SCRIPT_DIR=$( cd -- "$( dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )
-IDEA_REVISION=${IDEA_REVISION:-"v25.08.0"}
+IDEA_REVISION=${IDEA_REVISION:-"v25.08.1"}
 IDEA_DOCKER_REPO=${IDEA_DOCKER_REPO:-"public.ecr.aws/s5o2b4m0/idea-administrator"}
 IDEA_ECR_CREDS_RESET=${IDEA_ECR_CREDS_RESET:-"true"}
 IDEA_ADMIN_AWS_CREDENTIAL_PROVIDER=${IDEA_ADMIN_AWS_CREDENTIAL_PROVIDER:=""}
diff --git a/source/idea/idea-administrator/src/ideaadministrator_meta/__init__.py b/source/idea/idea-administrator/src/ideaadministrator_meta/__init__.py
index 70cd64b3..5f49cd2c 100644
--- a/source/idea/idea-administrator/src/ideaadministrator_meta/__init__.py
+++ b/source/idea/idea-administrator/src/ideaadministrator_meta/__init__.py
@@ -12,4 +12,4 @@
 # pkg config for idea-admin. no dependencies.
 
 __name__ = 'idea-administrator'
-__version__ = '25.08.0'
+__version__ = '25.08.1'
diff --git a/source/idea/idea-bootstrap/virtual-desktop-host-linux/configure_dcv_host.sh.jinja2 b/source/idea/idea-bootstrap/virtual-desktop-host-linux/configure_dcv_host.sh.jinja2
index 0f0f804b..7b96bebd 100644
--- a/source/idea/idea-bootstrap/virtual-desktop-host-linux/configure_dcv_host.sh.jinja2
+++ b/source/idea/idea-bootstrap/virtual-desktop-host-linux/configure_dcv_host.sh.jinja2
@@ -361,7 +361,12 @@ if [[ -f ${IDEA_CLUSTER_HOME}/dcv_host/userdata_customizations.sh ]]; then
   /bin/bash ${IDEA_CLUSTER_HOME}/dcv_host/userdata_customizations.sh >> ${BOOTSTRAP_DIR}/logs/userdata_customizations.log 2>&1
 fi
 
-{% include '_templates/linux/system_upgrade.jinja2' %}
+if [[ ! -f ${BOOTSTRAP_DIR}/idea_system_upgraded.log ]]; then
+  {% include '_templates/linux/system_upgrade.jinja2' %}
+  echo "System upgrade completed at $(date)" >> ${BOOTSTRAP_DIR}/idea_system_upgraded.log
+else
+  log_info "Found ${BOOTSTRAP_DIR}/idea_system_upgraded.log... skipping system upgrade..."
+fi
 
 {% if context.base_os in ('ubuntu2204', 'ubuntu2404') %}
 cp /etc/netplan/50-cloud-init.yaml /etc/netplan/50-cloud-init.yaml.bak
diff --git a/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/src/ideaclustermanager_meta/__init__.py b/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/src/ideaclustermanager_meta/__init__.py
index 08eaccdb..d5174f82 100644
--- a/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/src/ideaclustermanager_meta/__init__.py
+++ b/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/src/ideaclustermanager_meta/__init__.py
@@ -10,4 +10,4 @@
 #  and limitations under the License.
 
 __name__ = 'idea-cluster-manager'
-__version__ = '25.08.0'
+__version__ = '25.08.1'
diff --git a/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/webapp/.env b/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/webapp/.env
index bafd9284..27971c94 100644
--- a/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/webapp/.env
+++ b/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/webapp/.env
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 REACT_APP_IDEA_HTTP_ENDPOINT="http://localhost:8080"
 REACT_APP_IDEA_ALB_ENDPOINT="http://localhost:8080"
 REACT_APP_IDEA_HTTP_API_SUFFIX="/api/v1"
-REACT_APP_IDEA_RELEASE_VERSION="25.08.0"
+REACT_APP_IDEA_RELEASE_VERSION="25.08.1"
diff --git a/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/webapp/package.json b/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/webapp/package.json
index cdb3d9fb..ff8c4e54 100644
--- a/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/webapp/package.json
+++ b/source/idea/idea-cluster-manager/webapp/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "web-portal", 
-  "version": "25.08.0", 
+  "version": "25.08.1", 
   "private": true,
   "dependencies": {
     "@aperturerobotics/chonky": "^0.3.1",
diff --git a/source/idea/idea-data-model/src/ideadatamodel_meta/__init__.py b/source/idea/idea-data-model/src/ideadatamodel_meta/__init__.py
index b2940771..56657ad4 100644
--- a/source/idea/idea-data-model/src/ideadatamodel_meta/__init__.py
+++ b/source/idea/idea-data-model/src/ideadatamodel_meta/__init__.py
@@ -10,4 +10,4 @@
 #  and limitations under the License.
 
 __name__ = 'idea-data-model'
-__version__ = '25.08.0'
+__version__ = '25.08.1'
diff --git a/source/idea/idea-scheduler/src/ideascheduler_meta/__init__.py b/source/idea/idea-scheduler/src/ideascheduler_meta/__init__.py
index 20c0ca58..17e17a7e 100644
--- a/source/idea/idea-scheduler/src/ideascheduler_meta/__init__.py
+++ b/source/idea/idea-scheduler/src/ideascheduler_meta/__init__.py
@@ -12,4 +12,4 @@
 # pkgconfig for ideascheduler. no dependencies # noqa
 
 __name__ = 'idea-scheduler'
-__version__ = '25.08.0'
+__version__ = '25.08.1'
diff --git a/source/idea/idea-sdk/src/ideasdk_meta/__init__.py b/source/idea/idea-sdk/src/ideasdk_meta/__init__.py
index 1d428d98..bb5ef1d1 100644
--- a/source/idea/idea-sdk/src/ideasdk_meta/__init__.py
+++ b/source/idea/idea-sdk/src/ideasdk_meta/__init__.py
@@ -12,4 +12,4 @@
 # pkgconfig for soca-sdk. no dependencies # noqa
 
 __name__ = 'idea-sdk'
-__version__ = '25.08.0'
+__version__ = '25.08.1'
diff --git a/source/idea/idea-virtual-desktop-controller/src/ideavirtualdesktopcontroller_meta/__init__.py b/source/idea/idea-virtual-desktop-controller/src/ideavirtualdesktopcontroller_meta/__init__.py
index 477f945b..c5fff857 100644
--- a/source/idea/idea-virtual-desktop-controller/src/ideavirtualdesktopcontroller_meta/__init__.py
+++ b/source/idea/idea-virtual-desktop-controller/src/ideavirtualdesktopcontroller_meta/__init__.py
@@ -10,4 +10,4 @@
 #  and limitations under the License.
 
 __name__ = 'idea-virtual-desktop-controller'
-__version__ = '25.08.0'
+__version__ = '25.08.1'