diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 974b2525f3eff6..27871107c560b9 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@ VERSION_MAJOR = 2
 VERSION_MINOR = 6
 PATCHLEVEL = 0
 VERSION_TWEAK = 0
-EXTRAVERSION = rc1
+EXTRAVERSION = rc2