diff --git a/.gitlab/ci/version.yml b/.gitlab/ci/version.yml
index 3d7ac30ab2d579de2ff48a31e7c4c6daa57e80ba..aab3b3de2c6b5616cc4871066d3f770a542f490a 100644
--- a/.gitlab/ci/version.yml
+++ b/.gitlab/ci/version.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 variables:
   BUILD_OS: "debian"
-  CHROME_VERSION: "123"
+  CHROME_VERSION: "138"
   DOCKER_VERSION: "27.4.1"
   EXIFTOOL_VERSION: "12.60"
   GCLOUD_VERSION: "413"
diff --git a/qa/Dockerfile b/qa/Dockerfile
index a10db24c2f0566b468584e9b6a7a173bb120e86c..4a66992bddabfa5a1654885a6a6a71b75b5538bc 100644
--- a/qa/Dockerfile
+++ b/qa/Dockerfile
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ARG BUILD_OS=debian
-ARG CHROME_VERSION=123
+ARG CHROME_VERSION=138
 ARG DOCKER_VERSION=24.0.5
 ARG GCLOUD_VERSION=413
 ARG GIT_VERSION=2.51
diff --git a/spec/features/snippets/user_creates_snippet_spec.rb b/spec/features/snippets/user_creates_snippet_spec.rb
index e49b4707e2ed865c2dddc8682120118d19d8813e..4245839cfd93b4f6ef5d9b6e280fdb78fac0ee30 100644
--- a/spec/features/snippets/user_creates_snippet_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/features/snippets/user_creates_snippet_spec.rb
@@ -146,9 +146,7 @@ def fill_form
       # not anymore as requests when they come straight from memory cache.
       # accept_confirm is needed because of https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/262102
       reqs = inspect_requests do
-        visit("#{link}?ran=#{SecureRandom.base64(20)}") do
-          page.driver.browser.switch_to.alert.accept
-        end
+        visit("#{link}?ran=#{SecureRandom.base64(20)}")
       end
       expect(reqs.first.status_code).to eq(200)
     end
diff --git a/spec/support/capybara.rb b/spec/support/capybara.rb
index 7d58a81ede157753a7213b495b07f681a309e2eb..e73363468e13ca554dffd64fff2bcfce3c1dcefc 100644
--- a/spec/support/capybara.rb
+++ b/spec/support/capybara.rb
@@ -37,19 +37,20 @@
   # Force the browser's scale factor to prevent inconsistencies on high-res devices
   options.add_argument('--force-device-scale-factor=1')
 
-  options.add_argument("window-size=#{CAPYBARA_WINDOW_SIZE.join(',')}")
+  options.add_argument("--window-size=#{CAPYBARA_WINDOW_SIZE.join(',')}")
 
   # Chrome won't work properly in a Docker container in sandbox mode
-  options.add_argument("no-sandbox")
+  options.add_argument("--no-sandbox")
 
-  options.add_argument("disable-search-engine-choice-screen")
+  options.add_argument("--disable-search-engine-choice-screen")
 
   # Ensure the Chrome locale is `en` so all dates are deterministic regardless of local settings
   options.add_preference('intl.accept_languages', 'en')
 
   unless ENV['WEBDRIVER_HEADLESS'] =~ /^(false|no|0)$/i || ENV['CHROME_HEADLESS'] =~ /^(false|no|0)$/i
     # Run headless by default unless WEBDRIVER_HEADLESS specified
-    options.add_argument("headless")
+    options.add_argument('--headless=new')
+    options.add_argument('--disable-gpu')
 
     # Chrome may not run `requestAnimationFrame` callbacks when running multiple test cases in headless
     # mode due to background tab optimizations. We can disable some troublesome optimizations below.
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@
   end
 
   # Disable /dev/shm use in CI. See https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/issues/4252
-  options.add_argument("disable-dev-shm-usage") if ENV['CI'] || ENV['CI_SERVER']
+  options.add_argument("--disable-dev-shm-usage") if ENV['CI'] || ENV['CI_SERVER']
 
   # Set chrome default download path
   if ENV['DEFAULT_CHROME_DOWNLOAD_PATH']
@@ -148,6 +149,21 @@
     webmock_enable!
   end
 
+  # Restart Chrome after each test file to clear file descriptors
+  config.after(:context, :js) do
+    # Clear the Capybara session pool to force new Chrome instance
+    Capybara.send(:session_pool).clear
+
+    # Kill any remaining Chrome processes to release file descriptors
+    system("pkill -9 -f '/opt/google/chrome/chrome' 2>/dev/null || true")
+    system("pkill -9 -f 'Google Chrome.*--test-type=webdriver' 2>/dev/null || true")
+
+    # Small delay to ensure cleanup
+    sleep 0.5
+
+    puts "Chrome restarted after test file: #{self.class.metadata[:file_path]}"
+  end
+
   config.before(:example, :js) do
     clear_browser_logs