diff --git a/kroxylicious-systemtests/pom.xml b/kroxylicious-systemtests/pom.xml
index 3a698819fd..4f83a93d24 100644
--- a/kroxylicious-systemtests/pom.xml
+++ b/kroxylicious-systemtests/pom.xml
@@ -23,6 +23,11 @@
         using Strimzi, to simulate a real scenario for end-to-end testing treating Kroxylicious as a black box.
     </description>
 
+    <properties>
+        <!-- remove it when Strimzi new version is released -->
+        <kafka.version>3.7.1</kafka.version>
+    </properties>
+
     <dependencies>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>