diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9144761..58a9494 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Changed
+
+- Updated the default Python version from 3.12.5 to 3.12.6. ([#266](https://github.com/heroku/buildpacks-python/pull/266))
+
 ## [0.17.0] - 2024-09-04
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e4bf265..b52c35c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ To install a different version, add a `runtime.txt` file to your app's root dire
 
 ```term
 $ cat runtime.txt
-python-3.12.5
+python-3.12.6
 ```
 
 In the future this buildpack will also support specifying the Python version using:
diff --git a/src/python_version.rs b/src/python_version.rs
index f37aaa7..c971fef 100644
--- a/src/python_version.rs
+++ b/src/python_version.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ use std::path::Path;
 pub(crate) const DEFAULT_PYTHON_VERSION: PythonVersion = PythonVersion {
     major: 3,
     minor: 12,
-    patch: 5,
+    patch: 6,
 };
 
 /// Representation of a specific Python `X.Y.Z` version.
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/django_staticfiles_legacy_django/runtime.txt b/tests/fixtures/django_staticfiles_legacy_django/runtime.txt
index 2bccd9d..bb60b7f 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/django_staticfiles_legacy_django/runtime.txt
+++ b/tests/fixtures/django_staticfiles_legacy_django/runtime.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-python-3.10.14
+python-3.10.15
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/python_3.10/runtime.txt b/tests/fixtures/python_3.10/runtime.txt
index 2bccd9d..bb60b7f 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/python_3.10/runtime.txt
+++ b/tests/fixtures/python_3.10/runtime.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-python-3.10.14
+python-3.10.15
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/python_3.11/runtime.txt b/tests/fixtures/python_3.11/runtime.txt
index 546f3c8..e345195 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/python_3.11/runtime.txt
+++ b/tests/fixtures/python_3.11/runtime.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-python-3.11.9
+python-3.11.10
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/python_3.12/runtime.txt b/tests/fixtures/python_3.12/runtime.txt
index 8a7cba5..32bcba6 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/python_3.12/runtime.txt
+++ b/tests/fixtures/python_3.12/runtime.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-python-3.12.5
+python-3.12.6
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/python_3.8/runtime.txt b/tests/fixtures/python_3.8/runtime.txt
index 96307d5..7494875 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/python_3.8/runtime.txt
+++ b/tests/fixtures/python_3.8/runtime.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-python-3.8.19
+python-3.8.20
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/python_3.9/runtime.txt b/tests/fixtures/python_3.9/runtime.txt
index 4458b43..57f5588 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/python_3.9/runtime.txt
+++ b/tests/fixtures/python_3.9/runtime.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-python-3.9.19
+python-3.9.20
diff --git a/tests/mod.rs b/tests/mod.rs
index d760e08..e06e095 100644
--- a/tests/mod.rs
+++ b/tests/mod.rs
@@ -15,11 +15,11 @@ use std::env;
 use std::path::Path;
 
 const LATEST_PYTHON_3_7: &str = "3.7.17";
-const LATEST_PYTHON_3_8: &str = "3.8.19";
-const LATEST_PYTHON_3_9: &str = "3.9.19";
-const LATEST_PYTHON_3_10: &str = "3.10.14";
-const LATEST_PYTHON_3_11: &str = "3.11.9";
-const LATEST_PYTHON_3_12: &str = "3.12.5";
+const LATEST_PYTHON_3_8: &str = "3.8.20";
+const LATEST_PYTHON_3_9: &str = "3.9.20";
+const LATEST_PYTHON_3_10: &str = "3.10.15";
+const LATEST_PYTHON_3_11: &str = "3.11.10";
+const LATEST_PYTHON_3_12: &str = "3.12.6";
 const DEFAULT_PYTHON_VERSION: &str = LATEST_PYTHON_3_12;
 
 const DEFAULT_BUILDER: &str = "heroku/builder:24";
diff --git a/tests/pip_test.rs b/tests/pip_test.rs
index c6052a3..f29d313 100644
--- a/tests/pip_test.rs
+++ b/tests/pip_test.rs
@@ -188,18 +188,21 @@ fn pip_cache_previous_buildpack_version() {
                     To use a different version, see: https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/python-runtimes
                     
                     [Installing Python]
-                    Using cached Python {DEFAULT_PYTHON_VERSION}
+                    Discarding cached Python 3.12.5 since:
+                     - The Python version has changed from 3.12.5 to {DEFAULT_PYTHON_VERSION}
+                    Installing Python {DEFAULT_PYTHON_VERSION}
                     
                     [Installing pip]
-                    Using cached pip {PIP_VERSION}
+                    Discarding cached pip {PIP_VERSION}
+                    Installing pip {PIP_VERSION}
                     
                     [Installing dependencies using pip]
-                    Using cached pip download/wheel cache
+                    Discarding cached pip download/wheel cache
                     Creating virtual environment
                     Running 'pip install -r requirements.txt'
                     Collecting typing-extensions==4.12.2 (from -r requirements.txt (line 2))
-                      Using cached typing_extensions-4.12.2-py3-none-any.whl.metadata (3.0 kB)
-                    Using cached typing_extensions-4.12.2-py3-none-any.whl (37 kB)
+                      Downloading typing_extensions-4.12.2-py3-none-any.whl.metadata (3.0 kB)
+                    Downloading typing_extensions-4.12.2-py3-none-any.whl (37 kB)
                     Installing collected packages: typing-extensions
                     Successfully installed typing-extensions-4.12.2
                 "}