diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 9b7615b8a8f21a..0c383cd56a7217 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@ VERSION_MAJOR = 2
 VERSION_MINOR = 7
 PATCHLEVEL = 0
 VERSION_TWEAK = 0
-EXTRAVERSION = rc2
+EXTRAVERSION = rc3