diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 4ef6d23b54db49d560b62a7c36fc5d2853290564..5b3a4a1f0b710e893be2416fa147f7e7c656bfee 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-18.1.0-rc2
+18.1.0-rc3