diff --git a/src/clusterctl/devcontainer-feature.json b/src/clusterctl/devcontainer-feature.json
index 26ee5ab..05e465f 100644
--- a/src/clusterctl/devcontainer-feature.json
+++ b/src/clusterctl/devcontainer-feature.json
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
                 "v1.6.6",
                 "v1.7.3"
             ],
-            "default": "v1.8.0",
+            "default": "v1.8.1",
             "description": "Select or enter clusterctl version to install."
         }
     },
diff --git a/test/clusterctl/test.sh b/test/clusterctl/test.sh
index 0964058..9cd1060 100644
--- a/test/clusterctl/test.sh
+++ b/test/clusterctl/test.sh
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ source dev-container-features-test-lib
 
 # Feature-specific tests
 # The 'check' command comes from the dev-container-features-test-lib.
-check "version" clusterctl version | grep 'v1.8.0'
+check "version" clusterctl version | grep 'v1.8.1'
 
 # Report result
 # If any of the checks above exited with a non-zero exit code, the test will fail.