diff --git a/src/kubectl-helm-minikube/devcontainer-feature.json b/src/kubectl-helm-minikube/devcontainer-feature.json
index 410a909e4..af8dc739e 100644
--- a/src/kubectl-helm-minikube/devcontainer-feature.json
+++ b/src/kubectl-helm-minikube/devcontainer-feature.json
@@ -1,61 +1,61 @@
 {
-    "id": "kubectl-helm-minikube",
-    "version": "1.2.2",
-    "name": "Kubectl, Helm, and Minikube",
-    "documentationURL": "https://github.com/devcontainers/features/tree/main/src/kubectl-helm-minikube",
-    "description": "Installs latest version of kubectl, Helm, and optionally minikube. Auto-detects latest versions and installs needed dependencies.",
-    "options": {
-        "version": {
-            "type": "string",
-            "proposals": [
-                "latest",
-                "none",
-                "1.23",
-                "1.22",
-                "1.21",
-                "none"
-            ],
-            "default": "latest",
-            "description": "Select or enter a Kubernetes version to install"
-        },
-        "helm": {
-            "type": "string",
-            "proposals": [
-                "latest",
-                "none"
-            ],
-            "default": "latest",
-            "description": "Select or enter a Helm version to install"
-        },
-        "minikube": {
-            "type": "string",
-            "proposals": [
-                "latest",
-                "none"
-            ],
-            "default": "latest",
-            "description": "Select or enter a Minikube version to install"
-        }
+  "id": "kubectl-helm-minikube",
+  "version": "1.3.1",
+  "name": "Kubectl, Helm, and Minikube",
+  "documentationURL": "https://github.com/devcontainers/features/tree/main/src/kubectl-helm-minikube",
+  "description": "Installs latest version of kubectl, Helm, and optionally minikube. Auto-detects latest versions and installs needed dependencies.",
+  "options": {
+    "version": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "proposals": [
+        "latest",
+        "none",
+        "1.23",
+        "1.22",
+        "1.21",
+        "none"
+      ],
+      "default": "latest",
+      "description": "Select or enter a Kubernetes version to install"
     },
-    "mounts": [
-        {
-            "source": "minikube-config",
-            "target": "/home/vscode/.minikube",
-            "type": "volume"
-        }
-    ],
-    "customizations": {
-        "vscode": {
-            "settings": {
-                "github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions": [
-                    {
-                        "text": "This dev container includes kubectl, Helm, optionally minikube, and needed dependencies pre-installed and available on the `PATH`. When configuring Ingress for your Kubernetes cluster, note that by default Kubernetes will bind to a specific interface's IP rather than localhost or all interfaces. This is why you need to use the Kubernetes Node's IP when connecting - even if there's only one Node as in the case of Minikube."
-                    }
-                ]
-            }
-        }
+    "helm": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "proposals": [
+        "latest",
+        "none"
+      ],
+      "default": "latest",
+      "description": "Select or enter a Helm version to install"
     },
-    "installsAfter": [
-        "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/common-utils"
-    ]
+    "minikube": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "proposals": [
+        "latest",
+        "none"
+      ],
+      "default": "latest",
+      "description": "Select or enter a Minikube version to install"
+    }
+  },
+  "mounts": [
+    {
+      "source": "minikube-config",
+      "target": "/home/vscode/.minikube",
+      "type": "volume"
+    }
+  ],
+  "customizations": {
+    "vscode": {
+      "settings": {
+        "github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions": [
+          {
+            "text": "This dev container includes kubectl, Helm, optionally minikube, and needed dependencies pre-installed and available on the `PATH`. When configuring Ingress for your Kubernetes cluster, note that by default Kubernetes will bind to a specific interface's IP rather than localhost or all interfaces. This is why you need to use the Kubernetes Node's IP when connecting - even if there's only one Node as in the case of Minikube."
+          }
+        ]
+      }
+    }
+  },
+  "installsAfter": [
+    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/common-utils"
+  ]
 }
diff --git a/src/kubectl-helm-minikube/install.sh b/src/kubectl-helm-minikube/install.sh
index f0cf1c946..52544bb21 100755
--- a/src/kubectl-helm-minikube/install.sh
+++ b/src/kubectl-helm-minikube/install.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ set -e
 # Clean up
 rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
+# Fallback version when stable.txt cannot be fetched (updated: 2026-02)
+KUBECTL_FALLBACK_VERSION="v1.35.1"
+
 KUBECTL_VERSION="${VERSION:-"latest"}"
 HELM_VERSION="${HELM:-"latest"}"
 MINIKUBE_VERSION="${MINIKUBE:-"latest"}" # latest is also valid
@@ -164,7 +167,15 @@ if [ ${KUBECTL_VERSION} != "none" ]; then
     # Install the kubectl, verify checksum
     echo "Downloading kubectl..."
     if [ "${KUBECTL_VERSION}" = "latest" ] || [ "${KUBECTL_VERSION}" = "lts" ] || [ "${KUBECTL_VERSION}" = "current" ] || [ "${KUBECTL_VERSION}" = "stable" ]; then
-        KUBECTL_VERSION="$(curl -sSL https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)"
+        KUBECTL_VERSION="$(curl -fsSL --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30 https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt 2>/dev/null | grep -E '^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' || echo "")"
+        if [ -z "${KUBECTL_VERSION}" ]; then
+            echo "(!) Failed to fetch kubectl stable version from dl.k8s.io, trying alternative URL..."
+            KUBECTL_VERSION="$(curl -fsSL --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30 https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/stable.txt 2>/dev/null | grep -E '^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' || echo "")"
+        fi
+        if [ -z "${KUBECTL_VERSION}" ]; then
+            echo "(!) Failed to fetch kubectl stable version from both URLs. Using fallback version ${KUBECTL_FALLBACK_VERSION}"
+            KUBECTL_VERSION="${KUBECTL_FALLBACK_VERSION}"
+        fi
     else
         find_version_from_git_tags KUBECTL_VERSION https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes
     fi
@@ -174,7 +185,7 @@ if [ ${KUBECTL_VERSION} != "none" ]; then
     curl -sSL -o /usr/local/bin/kubectl "https://dl.k8s.io/release/${KUBECTL_VERSION}/bin/linux/${architecture}/kubectl"
     chmod 0755 /usr/local/bin/kubectl
     if [ "$KUBECTL_SHA256" = "automatic" ]; then
-        KUBECTL_SHA256="$(curl -sSL "https://dl.k8s.io/${KUBECTL_VERSION}/bin/linux/${architecture}/kubectl.sha256")"
+        KUBECTL_SHA256="$(curl -sSL "https://dl.k8s.io/release/${KUBECTL_VERSION}/bin/linux/${architecture}/kubectl.sha256")"
     fi
     ([ "${KUBECTL_SHA256}" = "dev-mode" ] || (echo "${KUBECTL_SHA256} */usr/local/bin/kubectl" | sha256sum -c -))
     if ! type kubectl > /dev/null 2>&1; then