diff --git a/.mergify.yml b/.mergify.yml
index 68fc36deb..008b06214 100644
--- a/.mergify.yml
+++ b/.mergify.yml
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ queue_rules:
       # Conditions to get out of the queue (= merged)
       - or:
           - and:
-              - base~=^(devel)|(release-.+)$
+              - base=release-v*
               - "status-success=codespell"
               - "status-success=multi-arch-build"
               - "status-success=go-test"
@@ -43,6 +43,25 @@ queue_rules:
               - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.28"
               - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-cephfs"
               - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-rbd"
+          - and:
+              - base=devel
+              - "status-success=codespell"
+              - "status-success=multi-arch-build"
+              - "status-success=go-test"
+              - "status-success=golangci-lint"
+              - "status-success=mod-check"
+              - "status-success=lint-extras"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-cephfs"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-rbd"
           - and:
               - base=ci/centos
               - "status-success=ci/centos/job-validation"
@@ -85,34 +104,62 @@ pull_request_rules:
 
   - name: update dependencies by dependabot (skip commitlint)
     conditions:
-      - author=dependabot[bot]
-      - label!=DNM
-      - base~=^(devel)|(release-.+)$
-      - "#approved-reviews-by>=2"
-      - "#changes-requested-reviews-by=0"
-      - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-contributors"
-      - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-maintainers"
-      - "status-success=codespell"
-      - "status-success=multi-arch-build"
-      - "status-success=go-test"
-      - "status-success=golangci-lint"
-      - "status-success=mod-check"
-      - "status-success=lint-extras"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.25"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.26"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.27"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.28"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.25"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.26"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.27"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.28"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.25"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.26"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.27"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.28"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-cephfs"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-rbd"
-      - "status-success=DCO"
+      - or:
+          - and:
+              - author=dependabot[bot]
+              - label!=DNM
+              - base=release-v*
+              - "#approved-reviews-by>=2"
+              - "#changes-requested-reviews-by=0"
+              - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-contributors"
+              - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-maintainers"
+              - "status-success=codespell"
+              - "status-success=multi-arch-build"
+              - "status-success=go-test"
+              - "status-success=golangci-lint"
+              - "status-success=mod-check"
+              - "status-success=lint-extras"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.25"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.25"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.25"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-cephfs"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-rbd"
+              - "status-success=DCO"
+          - and:
+              - author=dependabot[bot]
+              - label!=DNM
+              - base=devel
+              - "#approved-reviews-by>=2"
+              - "#changes-requested-reviews-by=0"
+              - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-contributors"
+              - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-maintainers"
+              - "status-success=codespell"
+              - "status-success=multi-arch-build"
+              - "status-success=go-test"
+              - "status-success=golangci-lint"
+              - "status-success=mod-check"
+              - "status-success=lint-extras"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-cephfs"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-rbd"
+              - "status-success=DCO"
     actions:
       queue:
         name: default
@@ -127,34 +174,62 @@ pull_request_rules:
 
   - name: automatic merge
     conditions:
-      - label!=DNM
-      - base~=^(devel)|(release-.+)$
-      - "#approved-reviews-by>=2"
-      - "#changes-requested-reviews-by=0"
-      - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-contributors"
-      - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-maintainers"
-      - "status-success=codespell"
-      - "status-success=multi-arch-build"
-      - "status-success=go-test"
-      - "status-success=golangci-lint"
-      - "status-success=commitlint"
-      - "status-success=mod-check"
-      - "status-success=lint-extras"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.25"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.26"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.27"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.28"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.25"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.26"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.27"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.28"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.25"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.26"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.27"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.28"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-cephfs"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-rbd"
-      - "status-success=DCO"
+      - or:
+          - and:
+              - label!=DNM
+              - base=release-v*
+              - "#approved-reviews-by>=2"
+              - "#changes-requested-reviews-by=0"
+              - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-contributors"
+              - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-maintainers"
+              - "status-success=codespell"
+              - "status-success=multi-arch-build"
+              - "status-success=go-test"
+              - "status-success=golangci-lint"
+              - "status-success=commitlint"
+              - "status-success=mod-check"
+              - "status-success=lint-extras"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.25"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.25"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.25"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-cephfs"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-rbd"
+              - "status-success=DCO"
+          - and:
+              - label!=DNM
+              - base=devel
+              - "#approved-reviews-by>=2"
+              - "#changes-requested-reviews-by=0"
+              - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-contributors"
+              - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-maintainers"
+              - "status-success=codespell"
+              - "status-success=multi-arch-build"
+              - "status-success=go-test"
+              - "status-success=golangci-lint"
+              - "status-success=commitlint"
+              - "status-success=mod-check"
+              - "status-success=lint-extras"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-cephfs"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-rbd"
+              - "status-success=DCO"
     actions:
       queue:
         name: default
@@ -162,33 +237,60 @@ pull_request_rules:
 
   - name: automatic merge PR having ready-to-merge label
     conditions:
-      - label!=DNM
-      - label=ready-to-merge
-      - base~=^(devel)|(release-.+)$
-      - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-maintainers"
-      - "status-success=codespell"
-      - "status-success=multi-arch-build"
-      - "status-success=go-test"
-      - "status-success=golangci-lint"
-      - "status-success=commitlint"
-      - "status-success=mod-check"
-      - "status-success=lint-extras"
-      - "#changes-requested-reviews-by=0"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.25"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.26"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.27"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.28"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.25"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.26"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.27"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.28"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.25"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.26"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.27"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.28"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-cephfs"
-      - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-rbd"
-      - "status-success=DCO"
+      - or:
+          - and:
+              - base=release-v*
+              - label!=DNM
+              - label=ready-to-merge
+              - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-maintainers"
+              - "status-success=codespell"
+              - "status-success=multi-arch-build"
+              - "status-success=go-test"
+              - "status-success=golangci-lint"
+              - "status-success=commitlint"
+              - "status-success=mod-check"
+              - "status-success=lint-extras"
+              - "#changes-requested-reviews-by=0"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.25"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.25"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.25"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-cephfs"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-rbd"
+              - "status-success=DCO"
+          - and:
+              - base=devel
+              - label!=DNM
+              - label=ready-to-merge
+              - "approved-reviews-by=@ceph/ceph-csi-maintainers"
+              - "status-success=codespell"
+              - "status-success=multi-arch-build"
+              - "status-success=go-test"
+              - "status-success=golangci-lint"
+              - "status-success=commitlint"
+              - "status-success=mod-check"
+              - "status-success=lint-extras"
+              - "#changes-requested-reviews-by=0"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/k8s-e2e-external-storage/1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e-helm/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.26"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.27"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/mini-e2e/k8s-1.28"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-cephfs"
+              - "status-success=ci/centos/upgrade-tests-rbd"
+              - "status-success=DCO"
     actions:
       queue:
         name: default