diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 88f3ead92f..fe1944b87d 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@ VERSION_MAJOR = 2
 VERSION_MINOR = 5
 PATCHLEVEL = 0
 VERSION_TWEAK = 0
-EXTRAVERSION = rc2
+EXTRAVERSION = rc3