diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
index 0746cbe20..1b91367d1 100644
--- a/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 {
-  ".": "2.12.0"
+  ".": "2.12.1"
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e49317408..aa9310918 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,13 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [2.12.1](https://github.com/microsoft/OpenAPI.NET/compare/v2.12.0...v2.12.1) (2026-08-19)
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* circular ref guard ([#3033](https://github.com/microsoft/OpenAPI.NET/issues/3033)) ([#3039](https://github.com/microsoft/OpenAPI.NET/issues/3039)) ([406e6fd](https://github.com/microsoft/OpenAPI.NET/commit/406e6fd60475a3adfb850b735a59f10afee64c18))
+* harden yaml parsing ([#3034](https://github.com/microsoft/OpenAPI.NET/issues/3034)) ([fdc5718](https://github.com/microsoft/OpenAPI.NET/commit/fdc5718a70607aa551ce9a00a03a812d3bc4c582))
+
 ## [2.12.0](https://github.com/microsoft/OpenAPI.NET/compare/v2.11.0...v2.12.0) (2026-08-12)
 
 
diff --git a/Directory.Build.props b/Directory.Build.props
index dc7b5623f..476fa18f7 100644
--- a/Directory.Build.props
+++ b/Directory.Build.props
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
     <PackageProjectUrl>https://github.com/Microsoft/OpenAPI.NET</PackageProjectUrl>
     <Copyright>© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.</Copyright>
     <PackageTags>OpenAPI .NET</PackageTags>
-    <Version>2.12.0</Version>
+    <Version>2.12.1</Version>
   </PropertyGroup>
   <!-- https://github.com/clairernovotny/DeterministicBuilds#deterministic-builds -->
   <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(TF_BUILD)' == 'true'">