diff --git a/awx/conf/fields.py b/awx/conf/fields.py
index 3296c29c04..ae809ca9b6 100644
--- a/awx/conf/fields.py
+++ b/awx/conf/fields.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import urllib.parse as urlparse
 from collections import OrderedDict
 
 # Django
-from django.core.validators import URLValidator, _lazy_re_compile
+from django.core.validators import URLValidator, DomainNameValidator, _lazy_re_compile
 from django.utils.translation import gettext_lazy as _
 
 # Django REST Framework
@@ -160,10 +160,11 @@ class StringListIsolatedPathField(StringListField):
 class URLField(CharField):
     # these lines set up a custom regex that allow numbers in the
     # top-level domain
+
     tld_re = (
         r'\.'  # dot
         r'(?!-)'  # can't start with a dash
-        r'(?:[a-z' + URLValidator.ul + r'0-9' + '-]{2,63}'  # domain label, this line was changed from the original URLValidator
+        r'(?:[a-z' + DomainNameValidator.ul + r'0-9' + '-]{2,63}'  # domain label, this line was changed from the original URLValidator
         r'|xn--[a-z0-9]{1,59})'  # or punycode label
         r'(?<!-)'  # can't end with a dash
         r'\.?'  # may have a trailing dot
diff --git a/awx/main/dispatch/config.py b/awx/main/dispatch/config.py
index d4c58c6459..6d99c8e930 100644
--- a/awx/main/dispatch/config.py
+++ b/awx/main/dispatch/config.py
@@ -11,13 +11,22 @@ def get_dispatcherd_config(for_service: bool = False, mock_publish: bool = False
     Parameters:
     for_service: if True, include dynamic options needed for running the dispatcher service
       this will require database access, you should delay evaluation until after app setup
+    mock_publish: if True, use mock values that don't require database access
+      this is used during tests to avoid database queries during app initialization
     """
+    # When mock_publish=True (e.g., during tests), use a default value to avoid
+    # database access in get_auto_max_workers() which queries settings.IS_K8S
+    if mock_publish:
+        max_workers = 20  # Reasonable default for tests
+    else:
+        max_workers = get_auto_max_workers()
+
     config = {
         "version": 2,
         "service": {
             "pool_kwargs": {
                 "min_workers": settings.JOB_EVENT_WORKERS,
-                "max_workers": get_auto_max_workers(),
+                "max_workers": max_workers,
             },
             "main_kwargs": {"node_id": settings.CLUSTER_HOST_ID},
             "process_manager_cls": "ForkServerManager",
diff --git a/awx/main/management/commands/gather_analytics.py b/awx/main/management/commands/gather_analytics.py
index e854f021ef..911996f8fe 100644
--- a/awx/main/management/commands/gather_analytics.py
+++ b/awx/main/management/commands/gather_analytics.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
+import datetime
 import logging
 
 from awx.main import analytics
 from dateutil import parser
 from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand
-from django.utils import timezone
 
 
 class Command(BaseCommand):
@@ -38,10 +38,10 @@ class Command(BaseCommand):
 
         since = parser.parse(opt_since) if opt_since else None
         if since and since.tzinfo is None:
-            since = since.replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+            since = since.replace(tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc)
         until = parser.parse(opt_until) if opt_until else None
         if until and until.tzinfo is None:
-            until = until.replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+            until = until.replace(tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc)
 
         if opt_ship and opt_dry_run:
             self.logger.error('Both --ship and --dry-run cannot be processed at the same time.')
diff --git a/awx/main/migrations/0144_event_partitions.py b/awx/main/migrations/0144_event_partitions.py
index 8813ae67e5..0408384e54 100644
--- a/awx/main/migrations/0144_event_partitions.py
+++ b/awx/main/migrations/0144_event_partitions.py
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
                 db_index=False, editable=False, on_delete=models.deletion.DO_NOTHING, related_name='system_job_events', to='main.SystemJob'
             ),
         ),
-        migrations.AlterIndexTogether(
+        dbawaremigrations.AlterIndexTogether(
             name='adhoccommandevent',
             index_together={
                 ('ad_hoc_command', 'job_created', 'event'),
@@ -245,11 +245,11 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
                 ('ad_hoc_command', 'job_created', 'uuid'),
             },
         ),
-        migrations.AlterIndexTogether(
+        dbawaremigrations.AlterIndexTogether(
             name='inventoryupdateevent',
             index_together={('inventory_update', 'job_created', 'counter'), ('inventory_update', 'job_created', 'uuid')},
         ),
-        migrations.AlterIndexTogether(
+        dbawaremigrations.AlterIndexTogether(
             name='jobevent',
             index_together={
                 ('job', 'job_created', 'counter'),
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
                 ('job', 'job_created', 'parent_uuid'),
             },
         ),
-        migrations.AlterIndexTogether(
+        dbawaremigrations.AlterIndexTogether(
             name='projectupdateevent',
             index_together={
                 ('project_update', 'job_created', 'uuid'),
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
                 ('project_update', 'job_created', 'counter'),
             },
         ),
-        migrations.AlterIndexTogether(
+        dbawaremigrations.AlterIndexTogether(
             name='systemjobevent',
             index_together={('system_job', 'job_created', 'uuid'), ('system_job', 'job_created', 'counter')},
         ),
diff --git a/awx/main/migrations/0184_django_indexes.py b/awx/main/migrations/0184_django_indexes.py
index cb9ad3aa1f..775465df13 100644
--- a/awx/main/migrations/0184_django_indexes.py
+++ b/awx/main/migrations/0184_django_indexes.py
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ from django.conf import settings
 from django.db import migrations, models
 import django.db.models.deletion
 
+from ._sqlite_helper import dbawaremigrations
+
 
 class Migration(migrations.Migration):
     dependencies = [
@@ -15,92 +17,92 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
     ]
 
     operations = [
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='adhoccommandevent',
             new_name='main_adhocc_ad_hoc__1e4d24_idx',
             old_fields=('ad_hoc_command', 'job_created', 'uuid'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='adhoccommandevent',
             new_name='main_adhocc_ad_hoc__e72142_idx',
             old_fields=('ad_hoc_command', 'job_created', 'event'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='adhoccommandevent',
             new_name='main_adhocc_ad_hoc__a57777_idx',
             old_fields=('ad_hoc_command', 'job_created', 'counter'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='inventoryupdateevent',
             new_name='main_invent_invento_f72b21_idx',
             old_fields=('inventory_update', 'job_created', 'uuid'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='inventoryupdateevent',
             new_name='main_invent_invento_364dcb_idx',
             old_fields=('inventory_update', 'job_created', 'counter'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='jobevent',
             new_name='main_jobeve_job_id_40a56d_idx',
             old_fields=('job', 'job_created', 'parent_uuid'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='jobevent',
             new_name='main_jobeve_job_id_3c4a4a_idx',
             old_fields=('job', 'job_created', 'uuid'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='jobevent',
             new_name='main_jobeve_job_id_51c382_idx',
             old_fields=('job', 'job_created', 'counter'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='jobevent',
             new_name='main_jobeve_job_id_0ddc6b_idx',
             old_fields=('job', 'job_created', 'event'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='projectupdateevent',
             new_name='main_projec_project_449bbd_idx',
             old_fields=('project_update', 'job_created', 'uuid'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='projectupdateevent',
             new_name='main_projec_project_69559a_idx',
             old_fields=('project_update', 'job_created', 'counter'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='projectupdateevent',
             new_name='main_projec_project_c44b7c_idx',
             old_fields=('project_update', 'job_created', 'event'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='role',
             new_name='main_rbac_r_content_979bdd_idx',
             old_fields=('content_type', 'object_id'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='roleancestorentry',
             new_name='main_rbac_r_ancesto_b44606_idx',
             old_fields=('ancestor', 'content_type_id', 'role_field'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='roleancestorentry',
             new_name='main_rbac_r_ancesto_22b9f0_idx',
             old_fields=('ancestor', 'content_type_id', 'object_id'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='roleancestorentry',
             new_name='main_rbac_r_ancesto_c87b87_idx',
             old_fields=('ancestor', 'descendent'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='systemjobevent',
             new_name='main_system_system__e39825_idx',
             old_fields=('system_job', 'job_created', 'uuid'),
         ),
-        migrations.RenameIndex(
+        dbawaremigrations.RenameIndex(
             model_name='systemjobevent',
             new_name='main_system_system__73537a_idx',
             old_fields=('system_job', 'job_created', 'counter'),
diff --git a/awx/main/migrations/0187_hop_nodes.py b/awx/main/migrations/0187_hop_nodes.py
index e363e266ce..3fa3d70ff9 100644
--- a/awx/main/migrations/0187_hop_nodes.py
+++ b/awx/main/migrations/0187_hop_nodes.py
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
         ),
         migrations.AddConstraint(
             model_name='instancelink',
-            constraint=models.CheckConstraint(check=models.Q(('source', models.F('target')), _negated=True), name='source_and_target_can_not_be_equal'),
+            constraint=models.CheckConstraint(condition=models.Q(('source', models.F('target')), _negated=True), name='source_and_target_can_not_be_equal'),
         ),
         migrations.RunPython(automatically_peer_from_control_plane),
     ]
diff --git a/awx/main/migrations/0205_alter_instance_peers_alter_job_hosts_and_more.py b/awx/main/migrations/0205_alter_instance_peers_alter_job_hosts_and_more.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..259bf42720
--- /dev/null
+++ b/awx/main/migrations/0205_alter_instance_peers_alter_job_hosts_and_more.py
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# Generated by Django 5.2.8 on 2025-11-20 18:39
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ('main', '0204_squashed_deletions'),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name='instance',
+            name='peers',
+            field=models.ManyToManyField(
+                related_name='peers_from', through='main.InstanceLink', through_fields=('source', 'target'), to='main.receptoraddress'
+            ),
+        ),
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name='job',
+            name='hosts',
+            field=models.ManyToManyField(editable=False, related_name='jobs', through='main.JobHostSummary', through_fields=('job', 'host'), to='main.host'),
+        ),
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name='role',
+            name='ancestors',
+            field=models.ManyToManyField(
+                related_name='descendents', through='main.RoleAncestorEntry', through_fields=('descendent', 'ancestor'), to='main.role'
+            ),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/awx/main/migrations/_dab_rbac.py b/awx/main/migrations/_dab_rbac.py
index cb37800463..58d8761166 100644
--- a/awx/main/migrations/_dab_rbac.py
+++ b/awx/main/migrations/_dab_rbac.py
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ def migrate_to_new_rbac(apps, schema_editor):
     # NOTE: this import is expected to break at some point, and then just move the data here
     from awx.main.models.rbac import role_descriptions
 
-    for role in Role.objects.prefetch_related('members', 'parents').iterator():
+    for role in Role.objects.prefetch_related('members', 'parents').iterator(chunk_size=1000):
         if role.singleton_name:
             continue  # only bothering to migrate object roles
 
diff --git a/awx/main/migrations/_sqlite_helper.py b/awx/main/migrations/_sqlite_helper.py
index fcf0557c0f..f3b7a24c0d 100644
--- a/awx/main/migrations/_sqlite_helper.py
+++ b/awx/main/migrations/_sqlite_helper.py
@@ -1,6 +1,78 @@
 from django.db import migrations
 
 
+class AlterIndexTogether(migrations.AlterIndexTogether):
+    """
+    Database-aware AlterIndexTogether that handles SQLite's missing indexes gracefully.
+
+    In Django 5.2+, SQLite table rewrites (triggered by AlterField operations)
+    can drop multi-column indexes. For SQLite, this catches the ValueError and
+    ignores it when the index doesn't exist. For PostgreSQL, uses standard behavior.
+    """
+
+    def database_forwards(self, app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state):
+        if not schema_editor.connection.vendor.startswith('postgres'):
+            # SQLite-specific handling: ignore missing indexes from table rewrites
+            try:
+                super().database_forwards(app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state)
+            except ValueError as exc:
+                if "Found wrong number (0) of constraints" in str(exc) or "Found wrong number (0) of indexes" in str(exc):
+                    return
+                raise
+        else:
+            # PostgreSQL: standard behavior
+            super().database_forwards(app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state)
+
+    def database_backwards(self, app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state):
+        if not schema_editor.connection.vendor.startswith('postgres'):
+            # SQLite-specific handling: ignore missing indexes from table rewrites
+            try:
+                super().database_backwards(app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state)
+            except ValueError as exc:
+                if "Found wrong number (0) of constraints" in str(exc) or "Found wrong number (0) of indexes" in str(exc):
+                    return
+                raise
+        else:
+            # PostgreSQL: standard behavior
+            super().database_backwards(app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state)
+
+
+class RenameIndex(migrations.RenameIndex):
+    """
+    Database-aware RenameIndex that handles SQLite's missing indexes gracefully.
+
+    In Django 5.2+, SQLite table rewrites (triggered by AlterField operations)
+    can drop multi-column indexes. For SQLite, this catches the ValueError and
+    ignores it when the index doesn't exist. For PostgreSQL, uses standard behavior.
+    """
+
+    def database_forwards(self, app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state):
+        if not schema_editor.connection.vendor.startswith('postgres'):
+            # SQLite-specific handling: ignore missing indexes from table rewrites
+            try:
+                super().database_forwards(app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state)
+            except ValueError as exc:
+                if "Found wrong number (0) of constraints" in str(exc) or "wrong number (0) of indexes" in str(exc):
+                    return
+                raise
+        else:
+            # PostgreSQL: standard behavior
+            super().database_forwards(app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state)
+
+    def database_backwards(self, app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state):
+        if not schema_editor.connection.vendor.startswith('postgres'):
+            # SQLite-specific handling: ignore missing indexes from table rewrites
+            try:
+                super().database_backwards(app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state)
+            except ValueError as exc:
+                if "Found wrong number (0) of constraints" in str(exc) or "wrong number (0) of indexes" in str(exc):
+                    return
+                raise
+        else:
+            # PostgreSQL: standard behavior
+            super().database_backwards(app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state)
+
+
 class RunSQL(migrations.operations.special.RunSQL):
     """
     Bit of a hack here. Django actually wants this decision made in the router
@@ -56,6 +128,8 @@ class RunPython(migrations.operations.special.RunPython):
 class _sqlitemigrations:
     RunPython = RunPython
     RunSQL = RunSQL
+    AlterIndexTogether = AlterIndexTogether
+    RenameIndex = RenameIndex
 
 
 dbawaremigrations = _sqlitemigrations()
diff --git a/requirements/requirements.in b/requirements/requirements.in
index 8c53ef33e5..f8be8eb7bf 100644
--- a/requirements/requirements.in
+++ b/requirements/requirements.in
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ cryptography
 Cython
 daphne
 distro
-django==4.2.26  # CVE-2025-32873
+django>=5.2,<5.3  # Django 5.2 LTS, allow patch updates
 django-cors-headers
 django-crum
 django-extensions
diff --git a/requirements/requirements.txt b/requirements/requirements.txt
index 3e65649908..f88df90e25 100644
--- a/requirements/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements/requirements.txt
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ dispatcherd==2025.5.21
     # via -r /awx_devel/requirements/requirements.in
 distro==1.9.0
     # via -r /awx_devel/requirements/requirements.in
-django==4.2.26
+django==5.2.8
     # via
     #   -r /awx_devel/requirements/requirements.in
     #   channels
diff --git a/requirements/requirements_dev.txt b/requirements/requirements_dev.txt
index 92ef46f576..7c6a84ceb3 100644
--- a/requirements/requirements_dev.txt
+++ b/requirements/requirements_dev.txt
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 build
-django-debug-toolbar==3.2.4
+django-debug-toolbar>=6.0  # Django 5.2 compatibility
 django-test-migrations
 drf-spectacular>=0.27.0  # Modern OpenAPI 3.0 schema generator
 # pprofile - re-add once https://github.com/vpelletier/pprofile/issues/41 is addressed
@@ -28,4 +28,3 @@ pip>=21.3,<=24.0 # PEP 660 – Editable installs for pyproject.toml based builds
 debugpy
 remote-pdb
 sdb
-