diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f9646b4..29b4ef0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,9 +9,17 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Planned
 - Look-around assertions
-- ARM NEON SIMD support (Go 1.26 `simd/archsimd` intrinsics — [#120](https://github.com/coregx/coregex/issues/120))
+- ARM NEON SIMD support ([#120](https://github.com/coregx/coregex/issues/120))
 - SIMD prefilter for CompositeSequenceDFA (#83)
 
+## [0.12.25] - 2026-09-06
+
+### Changed
+- **Go toolchain**: 1.25.4 → 1.27.1 — compiler improvements (known-bits dataflow,
+  LICM, switch-to-lookup-table), `simd/archsimd` fixes, Green Tea GC
+- **CI**: job names no longer include Go version (stable branch protection),
+  golangci-lint v2.10 → v2.13, branch protection migrated to GitHub Rulesets
+
 ## [0.12.24] - 2026-08-22
 
 ### Changed
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 5f88dcd..6a3574b 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -418,7 +418,7 @@ func BenchmarkMemchr(b *testing.B) {
 - Check existing issues and discussions
 - Read ROADMAP.md for project roadmap and progress
 - Ask questions in GitHub Issues
-- Reference implementation guides in `docs/dev/`
+- Reference implementations: RE2 and rust-regex source code (see ROADMAP.md)
 
 ## Performance Expectations
 
diff --git a/ROADMAP.md b/ROADMAP.md
index c4aa246..c541446 100644
--- a/ROADMAP.md
+++ b/ROADMAP.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 > **Strategic Focus**: Production-grade regex engine with RE2/rust-regex level optimizations
 
-**Last Updated**: 2026-08-22 | **Current Version**: v0.12.24 | **Target**: v1.0.0 stable
+**Last Updated**: 2026-09-06 | **Current Version**: v0.12.25 | **Target**: v1.0.0 stable
 
 ---
 
@@ -110,6 +110,8 @@ v0.12.23 ✅ → ahocorasick v0.3.0 (zero-alloc Find/FindAt API)
          ↓
 v0.12.24 ✅ → deps: ahocorasick v0.3.1, x/sys v0.47.0
          ↓
+v0.12.25 ✅ → Go 1.27.1 toolchain, CI modernization
+         ↓
 v1.0.0-rc → Feature freeze, API locked
          ↓
 v1.0.0 STABLE → Production release with API stability guarantee
@@ -305,17 +307,8 @@ Cross-language benchmarks via [regex-bench](https://github.com/kolkov/regex-benc
 
 ## Research Documentation
 
-All optimization research is documented:
-
-| Document | Content |
-|----------|---------|
-| `docs/dev/research/RE2_SMALL_INPUT_OPTIMIZATION_ANALYSIS.md` | RE2 thresholds and strategies |
-| `docs/dev/research/RUST_REGEX_SMALL_INPUT_OPTIMIZATION_ANALYSIS.md` | rust-regex analysis |
-| `docs/dev/research/OPTIMIZATION_OPPORTUNITIES.md` | Comprehensive gap analysis with code examples |
-
-Reference implementations available locally:
-- `docs/dev/reference/re2/` - RE2 source code
-- `docs/dev/reference/rust-regex/` - rust-regex source code
+Optimization research based on RE2 and rust-regex reference implementations.
+Covers thresholds, strategies, and comprehensive gap analysis with code examples.
 
 ---