diff --git a/.golangci.yml b/.golangci.yml
index 4b715a8d41..fc451adcff 100644
--- a/.golangci.yml
+++ b/.golangci.yml
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ linters:
     - govet
     - ineffassign
     - misspell
+    - modernize
     - revive
     - staticcheck
     - unused
@@ -74,6 +75,12 @@ linters:
 
       # tab width in spaces. Default to 1.
       tab-width: 1
+    modernize:
+      disable:
+        - any
+        - stringsbuilder
+        - omitzero
+        - waitgroup
     nakedret:
       # make an issue if func has more lines of code than this setting and it has naked returns; default is 30
       max-func-lines: 30
diff --git a/cmd/ec2geninfo/main.go b/cmd/ec2geninfo/main.go
index 3717422802..797046bcd5 100644
--- a/cmd/ec2geninfo/main.go
+++ b/cmd/ec2geninfo/main.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"regexp"
+	"slices"
 	"text/template"
 
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/aws"
@@ -157,11 +158,8 @@ func getEC2Instances(region string, instances map[string]InstanceInfo) (map[stri
 
 			cbrSupported := false
 			if inst.SupportedUsageClasses != nil {
-				for _, usageClass := range inst.SupportedUsageClasses {
-					if usageClass == types.UsageClassTypeCapacityBlock {
-						cbrSupported = true
-						break
-					}
+				if slices.Contains(inst.SupportedUsageClasses, types.UsageClassTypeCapacityBlock) {
+					cbrSupported = true
 				}
 			}
 
diff --git a/integration/tests/crud/creategetdelete_test.go b/integration/tests/crud/creategetdelete_test.go
index 1309befc3f..a3c6fa6d75 100644
--- a/integration/tests/crud/creategetdelete_test.go
+++ b/integration/tests/crud/creategetdelete_test.go
@@ -492,8 +492,8 @@ var _ = Describe("(Integration) Create, Get, Scale & Delete", func() {
 				Expect(js).To(ContainElement(HavePrefix("AWS_SESSION_OBJECT=")))
 
 				for _, envVar := range js {
-					if strings.HasPrefix(envVar, "AWS_SESSION_OBJECT=") {
-						err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(strings.TrimPrefix(envVar, "AWS_SESSION_OBJECT=")), &so)
+					if after, ok := strings.CutPrefix(envVar, "AWS_SESSION_OBJECT="); ok {
+						err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(after), &so)
 						Expect(err).ShouldNot(HaveOccurred())
 					}
 				}
diff --git a/integration/tests/dry_run/dry_run_test.go b/integration/tests/dry_run/dry_run_test.go
index 0c125ebb86..ae09a0c910 100644
--- a/integration/tests/dry_run/dry_run_test.go
+++ b/integration/tests/dry_run/dry_run_test.go
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ var _ = Describe("(Integration) [Dry-Run test]", func() {
 	parseOutput := func(output []byte) (*api.ClusterConfig, *api.ClusterConfig) {
 		actual, err := eks.ParseConfig(output)
 		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-		defaultConfig, err := eks.ParseConfig([]byte(fmt.Sprintf(defaultClusterConfig, params.ClusterName)))
+		defaultConfig, err := eks.ParseConfig(fmt.Appendf(nil, defaultClusterConfig, params.ClusterName))
 		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 		return actual, defaultConfig
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/actions/accessentry/creator_test.go b/pkg/actions/accessentry/creator_test.go
index 86ff4cb792..e048331ba0 100644
--- a/pkg/actions/accessentry/creator_test.go
+++ b/pkg/actions/accessentry/creator_test.go
@@ -28,11 +28,10 @@ var _ = Describe("Access Entry", func() {
 		s.CreateStackStub = func(ctx context.Context, stackName string, r builder.ResourceSetReader, tags map[string]string, parameters map[string]string, errorCh chan error) error {
 			defer close(errorCh)
 			prefix := fmt.Sprintf("eksctl-%s-accessentry-", ae.clusterName)
-			idx := strings.Index(stackName, prefix)
-			if idx < 0 {
+			_, suffix, ok := strings.Cut(stackName, prefix)
+			if !ok {
 				return fmt.Errorf("expected stack name to have prefix %q", prefix)
 			}
-			suffix := stackName[idx+len(prefix):]
 			_, err := base32.StdEncoding.WithPadding(base32.NoPadding).DecodeString(suffix)
 			if err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("expected stack name to have a base32-encoded suffix: %w", err)
diff --git a/pkg/actions/accessentry/migrator_test.go b/pkg/actions/accessentry/migrator_test.go
index 0a8cb5c888..79da4a7fe6 100644
--- a/pkg/actions/accessentry/migrator_test.go
+++ b/pkg/actions/accessentry/migrator_test.go
@@ -59,11 +59,10 @@ var _ = Describe("Migrate Access Entry", func() {
 		s.CreateStackStub = func(ctx context.Context, stackName string, r builder.ResourceSetReader, tags map[string]string, parameters map[string]string, errorCh chan error) error {
 			defer close(errorCh)
 			prefix := fmt.Sprintf("eksctl-%s-accessentry-", clusterName)
-			idx := strings.Index(stackName, prefix)
-			if idx < 0 {
+			_, suffix, ok := strings.Cut(stackName, prefix)
+			if !ok {
 				return fmt.Errorf("expected stack name to have prefix %q", prefix)
 			}
-			suffix := stackName[idx+len(prefix):]
 			_, err := base32.StdEncoding.WithPadding(base32.NoPadding).DecodeString(suffix)
 			if err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("expected stack name to have a base32-encoded suffix: %w", err)
diff --git a/pkg/actions/addon/create.go b/pkg/actions/addon/create.go
index cda675569b..51ea5976af 100644
--- a/pkg/actions/addon/create.go
+++ b/pkg/actions/addon/create.go
@@ -319,7 +319,7 @@ func (a *Manager) patchAWSNodeSA(ctx context.Context) error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	_, err = serviceAccounts.Patch(ctx, "aws-node", types.JSONPatchType, []byte(fmt.Sprintf(`[{"op": "remove", "path": "/metadata/managedFields/%d"}]`, managerIndex)), metav1.PatchOptions{})
+	_, err = serviceAccounts.Patch(ctx, "aws-node", types.JSONPatchType, fmt.Appendf(nil, `[{"op": "remove", "path": "/metadata/managedFields/%d"}]`, managerIndex), metav1.PatchOptions{})
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to patch sa: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@ func (a *Manager) patchAWSNodeDaemonSet(ctx context.Context) error {
 		}
 	}
 
-	_, err = daemonSets.Patch(ctx, "aws-node", types.JSONPatchType, []byte(fmt.Sprintf(`[{"op": "remove", "path": "/metadata/managedFields/%d"}]`, managerIndex)), metav1.PatchOptions{})
+	_, err = daemonSets.Patch(ctx, "aws-node", types.JSONPatchType, fmt.Appendf(nil, `[{"op": "remove", "path": "/metadata/managedFields/%d"}]`, managerIndex), metav1.PatchOptions{})
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to patch daemon set: %w", err)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/actions/anywhere/anywhere.go b/pkg/actions/anywhere/anywhere.go
index 0736ccc135..da533e5bbc 100644
--- a/pkg/actions/anywhere/anywhere.go
+++ b/pkg/actions/anywhere/anywhere.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
+	"slices"
 
 	"github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/pkg/version"
 )
@@ -26,10 +27,8 @@ func IsAnywhereCommand(args []string) (bool, error) {
 
 	// if they have any args/flags before the anywhere command we should error
 	// e.g. eksctl --foo=bar anywhere should error
-	for _, arg := range args {
-		if arg == "anywhere" {
-			return false, fmt.Errorf("flags cannot be placed before the anywhere command")
-		}
+	if slices.Contains(args, "anywhere") {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("flags cannot be placed before the anywhere command")
 	}
 
 	return false, nil
diff --git a/pkg/actions/capability/creator.go b/pkg/actions/capability/creator.go
index b632aaa8d9..d20e360a87 100644
--- a/pkg/actions/capability/creator.go
+++ b/pkg/actions/capability/creator.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/base32"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"maps"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -128,9 +129,7 @@ func (c *Creator) createCapabilityStack(ctx context.Context, capability *api.Cap
 		api.ClusterNameTag:    c.clusterName,
 		api.CapabilityNameTag: capability.Name,
 	}
-	for k, v := range capability.Tags {
-		tags[k] = v
-	}
+	maps.Copy(tags, capability.Tags)
 	if err := c.stackCreator.CreateStack(ctx, stackName, rs, tags, nil, stackErrCh); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -154,9 +153,7 @@ func (c *Creator) createIAMRoleStack(ctx context.Context, capability *api.Capabi
 		api.CapabilityIAMRoleTag: capability.Name,
 	}
 
-	for k, v := range capability.Tags {
-		tags[k] = v
-	}
+	maps.Copy(tags, capability.Tags)
 
 	stackCh := make(chan error)
 	if err := c.stackCreator.CreateStack(ctx, stackName, rs, tags, nil, stackCh); err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/actions/karpenter/create_test.go b/pkg/actions/karpenter/create_test.go
index e3fe4c0a68..5ee6d3b7af 100644
--- a/pkg/actions/karpenter/create_test.go
+++ b/pkg/actions/karpenter/create_test.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
+	"slices"
 
 	awseks "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks"
 	ekstypes "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks/types"
@@ -451,12 +452,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Create", func() {
 					Cluster: fakeCluster,
 				}, nil)
 				p.MockEC2().On("CreateTags", mock.Anything, mock.MatchedBy(func(input *ec2.CreateTagsInput) bool {
-					for _, r := range input.Resources {
-						if r == "sg-cluster-1234" {
-							return true
-						}
-					}
-					return false
+					return slices.Contains(input.Resources, "sg-cluster-1234")
 				})).Return(nil, errors.New("tag failed"))
 			})
 			It("errors", func() {
diff --git a/pkg/actions/nodegroup/delete_test.go b/pkg/actions/nodegroup/delete_test.go
index fe6ed33e0d..ec149a7eda 100644
--- a/pkg/actions/nodegroup/delete_test.go
+++ b/pkg/actions/nodegroup/delete_test.go
@@ -77,7 +77,6 @@ var _ = Describe("Delete", func() {
 			deleteNgTaskRuns atomic.Uint32
 		)
 		for _, stack := range dt.stacks {
-			stack := stack
 			deleteNgTasks = append(deleteNgTasks, &taskfakes.FakeTask{
 				DescribeStub: func() string {
 					return "delete " + stack.NodeGroupName
diff --git a/pkg/actions/nodegroup/drain.go b/pkg/actions/nodegroup/drain.go
index 93f1d9f63f..7e2b46005d 100644
--- a/pkg/actions/nodegroup/drain.go
+++ b/pkg/actions/nodegroup/drain.go
@@ -43,7 +43,6 @@ func (d *Drainer) Drain(ctx context.Context, input *DrainInput) error {
 
 	g, ctx := errgroup.WithContext(ctx)
 	for _, nodegroup := range input.NodeGroups {
-		nodegroup := nodegroup
 		g.Go(func() error {
 			nodeGroupDrainer := drain.NewNodeGroupDrainer(d.ClientSet, nodegroup, input.MaxGracePeriod, input.NodeDrainWaitPeriod, input.PodEvictionWaitPeriod, input.Undo, input.DisableEviction, input.Parallel)
 			return nodeGroupDrainer.Drain(ctx, sem)
diff --git a/pkg/actions/podidentityassociation/creator.go b/pkg/actions/podidentityassociation/creator.go
index ef43fb3ce7..7baeef4158 100644
--- a/pkg/actions/podidentityassociation/creator.go
+++ b/pkg/actions/podidentityassociation/creator.go
@@ -46,7 +46,6 @@ func (c *Creator) CreateTasks(ctx context.Context, podIdentityAssociations []api
 		Parallel: true,
 	}
 	for _, pia := range podIdentityAssociations {
-		pia := pia
 		piaCreationTasks := &tasks.TaskTree{
 			Parallel:  false,
 			IsSubTask: true,
diff --git a/pkg/actions/podidentityassociation/deleter.go b/pkg/actions/podidentityassociation/deleter.go
index 11679010b9..71cefcca54 100644
--- a/pkg/actions/podidentityassociation/deleter.go
+++ b/pkg/actions/podidentityassociation/deleter.go
@@ -118,7 +118,6 @@ func (d *Deleter) DeleteTasks(ctx context.Context, podIDs []Identifier) (*tasks.
 	}
 
 	for _, podID := range podIDs {
-		podID := podID
 		piaDeletionTasks := &tasks.TaskTree{
 			Parallel:  false,
 			IsSubTask: true,
diff --git a/pkg/addons/default/addons.go b/pkg/addons/default/addons.go
index ae2a99578a..1422fff636 100644
--- a/pkg/addons/default/addons.go
+++ b/pkg/addons/default/addons.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package defaultaddons
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"slices"
 
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks"
 
@@ -66,10 +67,8 @@ func supportsMultiArch(podSec corev1.PodSpec) bool {
 	for _, nodeSelectorTerm := range podSec.Affinity.NodeAffinity.RequiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution.NodeSelectorTerms {
 		for _, me := range nodeSelectorTerm.MatchExpressions {
 			if me.Key == corev1.LabelArchStable && me.Operator == corev1.NodeSelectorOpIn {
-				for _, val := range me.Values {
-					if val == "arm64" {
-						return true
-					}
+				if slices.Contains(me.Values, "arm64") {
+					return true
 				}
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/nodegroups.go b/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/nodegroups.go
index 81d2074f38..72d85002d7 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/nodegroups.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/nodegroups.go
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 package v1alpha5
 
-import "fmt"
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"slices"
+)
 
 // HasInstanceType returns whether some node in the group fulfils the type check
 func HasInstanceType(nodeGroup *NodeGroup, hasType func(string) bool) bool {
@@ -8,10 +11,8 @@ func HasInstanceType(nodeGroup *NodeGroup, hasType func(string) bool) bool {
 		return true
 	}
 	if nodeGroup.InstancesDistribution != nil {
-		for _, instanceType := range nodeGroup.InstancesDistribution.InstanceTypes {
-			if hasType(instanceType) {
-				return true
-			}
+		if slices.ContainsFunc(nodeGroup.InstancesDistribution.InstanceTypes, hasType) {
+			return true
 		}
 	}
 	return false
@@ -22,12 +23,7 @@ func HasInstanceTypeManaged(nodeGroup *ManagedNodeGroup, hasType func(string) bo
 	if hasType(nodeGroup.InstanceType) {
 		return true
 	}
-	for _, instanceType := range nodeGroup.InstanceTypes {
-		if hasType(instanceType) {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
+	return slices.ContainsFunc(nodeGroup.InstanceTypes, hasType)
 }
 
 // ClusterHasInstanceType checks all nodegroups and managed nodegroups for a specific instance type
diff --git a/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/partitions.go b/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/partitions.go
index 88096b4da4..69b77f670f 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/partitions.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/partitions.go
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 package v1alpha5
 
-import "fmt"
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"slices"
+)
 
 // Partitions.
 const (
@@ -153,10 +156,8 @@ var Partitions = partitions{
 
 func (p partitions) partitionFromRegion(region string) *partition {
 	for _, pt := range p {
-		for _, r := range pt.regions {
-			if r == region {
-				return &pt
-			}
+		if slices.Contains(pt.regions, region) {
+			return &pt
 		}
 	}
 	return nil
diff --git a/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/types.go b/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/types.go
index 95b46517c7..f014bb0dfd 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/types.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/types.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -1214,10 +1215,8 @@ func NewClusterIAM() *ClusterIAM {
 
 // AppendAvailabilityZone appends a new AZ to the set
 func (c *ClusterConfig) AppendAvailabilityZone(newAZ string) {
-	for _, az := range c.AvailabilityZones {
-		if az == newAZ {
-			return
-		}
+	if slices.Contains(c.AvailabilityZones, newAZ) {
+		return
 	}
 	c.AvailabilityZones = append(c.AvailabilityZones, newAZ)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/validation.go b/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/validation.go
index b6cf69653f..1085132b2b 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/validation.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5/validation.go
@@ -385,10 +385,8 @@ func validateCloudWatchLogging(clusterConfig *ClusterConfig) error {
 		}
 	}
 	if logRetentionDays := clusterConfig.CloudWatch.ClusterLogging.LogRetentionInDays; logRetentionDays != 0 {
-		for _, v := range LogRetentionInDaysValues {
-			if v == logRetentionDays {
-				return nil
-			}
+		if slices.Contains(LogRetentionInDaysValues, logRetentionDays) {
+			return nil
 		}
 		return fmt.Errorf("invalid value %d for logRetentionInDays; supported values are %v", logRetentionDays, LogRetentionInDaysValues)
 	}
@@ -468,14 +466,7 @@ func (c *ClusterConfig) ValidateVPCConfig() error {
 			return errors.New("vpc.hostnameType is not supported with a pre-existing VPC")
 		}
 		var hostnameType ec2types.HostnameType
-		found := false
-		for _, h := range hostnameType.Values() {
-			if h == ec2types.HostnameType(c.VPC.HostnameType) {
-				found = true
-				break
-			}
-		}
-		if !found {
+		if !slices.Contains(hostnameType.Values(), ec2types.HostnameType(c.VPC.HostnameType)) {
 			return fmt.Errorf("invalid value %q for vpc.hostnameType; supported values are %v", c.VPC.HostnameType, hostnameType.Values())
 		}
 	}
@@ -1614,12 +1605,7 @@ func validateNodeGroupKubeletExtraConfig(kubeletConfig *InlineDocument) error {
 }
 
 func isSupportedAMIFamily(imageFamily string) bool {
-	for _, image := range SupportedAMIFamilies() {
-		if imageFamily == image {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
+	return slices.Contains(SupportedAMIFamilies(), imageFamily)
 }
 
 func supportedAMIFamiliesForOS(isOSImage func(string) bool) []string {
diff --git a/pkg/az/az.go b/pkg/az/az.go
index 5ae6d7e320..6289a33c11 100644
--- a/pkg/az/az.go
+++ b/pkg/az/az.go
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"math/rand"
-	gostrings "strings"
+	"slices"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/aws"
@@ -15,7 +16,6 @@ import (
 	api "github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5"
 	"github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/pkg/awsapi"
 	"github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/pkg/utils/nodes"
-	"github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/pkg/utils/strings"
 )
 
 var zoneIDsToAvoid = map[string][]string{
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ func FilterBasedOnAvailability(ctx context.Context, zones []string, np []api.Nod
 		if len(noSupport) == 0 {
 			filteredList = append(filteredList, zone)
 		} else {
-			logger.Info("skipping %s from selection because it doesn't support the following instance type(s): %s", zone, gostrings.Join(noSupport, ","))
+			logger.Info("skipping %s from selection because it doesn't support the following instance type(s): %s", zone, strings.Join(noSupport, ","))
 		}
 	}
 	return filteredList, nil
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ func filterZones(region string, zones []ec2types.AvailabilityZone) []string {
 	var filteredZones []string
 	azsToAvoid := zoneIDsToAvoid[region]
 	for _, z := range zones {
-		if !strings.Contains(azsToAvoid, *z.ZoneId) {
+		if !slices.Contains(azsToAvoid, *z.ZoneId) {
 			filteredZones = append(filteredZones, *z.ZoneName)
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/cfn/builder/auto_mode.go b/pkg/cfn/builder/auto_mode.go
index 4c7af29db5..aeb43fde29 100644
--- a/pkg/cfn/builder/auto_mode.go
+++ b/pkg/cfn/builder/auto_mode.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package builder
 import (
 	_ "embed"
 	"errors"
+	"maps"
 
 	api "github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/pkg/apis/eksctl.io/v1alpha5"
 
@@ -42,9 +43,7 @@ func AddAutoModeResources(clusterTemplate *gfn.Template, permissionsBoundary api
 		}
 		clusterTemplate.Resources[resourceName] = resource
 	}
-	for key, output := range template.Outputs {
-		clusterTemplate.Outputs[key] = output
-	}
+	maps.Copy(clusterTemplate.Outputs, template.Outputs)
 	return AutoModeRefs{
 		NodeRole: gfnt.MakeFnGetAttString("AutoModeNodeRole", "Arn"),
 	}, nil
diff --git a/pkg/cfn/builder/beta.go b/pkg/cfn/builder/beta.go
index 1c05aef5ef..124b462699 100644
--- a/pkg/cfn/builder/beta.go
+++ b/pkg/cfn/builder/beta.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	_ "embed"
 	"fmt"
+	"maps"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 
@@ -44,12 +45,8 @@ func addBetaResources(stsAPI awsapi.STS, stackName string, clusterTemplate *gfn.
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	for resourceName, resource := range template.Resources {
-		clusterTemplate.Resources[resourceName] = resource
-	}
-	for key, output := range template.Outputs {
-		clusterTemplate.Outputs[key] = output
-	}
+	maps.Copy(clusterTemplate.Resources, template.Resources)
+	maps.Copy(clusterTemplate.Outputs, template.Outputs)
 	customResource := clusterTemplate.Resources["ControlPlane"].(*gfn.CustomResource)
 	if g.AccessConfig != nil {
 		customResource.Properties["AccessConfig"] = g.AccessConfig
diff --git a/pkg/cfn/builder/managed_launch_template_test.go b/pkg/cfn/builder/managed_launch_template_test.go
index 9c56454c21..bed13acaa9 100644
--- a/pkg/cfn/builder/managed_launch_template_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cfn/builder/managed_launch_template_test.go
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ var _ = Describe("ManagedNodeGroup builder", func() {
 			if !m.hasUserData {
 				return "", nil
 			}
-			userData := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte(fmt.Sprintf(`/etc/eks/bootstrap.sh %s`, clusterConfig.Metadata.Name)))
+			userData := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(fmt.Appendf(nil, `/etc/eks/bootstrap.sh %s`, clusterConfig.Metadata.Name))
 			return userData, nil
 		}
 
diff --git a/pkg/cfn/builder/nodegroup_test.go b/pkg/cfn/builder/nodegroup_test.go
index df8f244bb3..b702d37f41 100644
--- a/pkg/cfn/builder/nodegroup_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cfn/builder/nodegroup_test.go
@@ -1081,7 +1081,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Unmanaged NodeGroup Template Builder", func() {
 							ng.PropagateASGTags = api.Enabled()
 							ng.Labels = map[string]string{}
 							ng.Taints = []api.NodeGroupTaint{}
-							for i := 0; i < builder.MaximumTagNumber+1; i++ {
+							for i := range builder.MaximumTagNumber + 1 {
 								ng.Labels[fmt.Sprintf("%d", i)] = "test"
 							}
 						})
diff --git a/pkg/cfn/builder/vpc_endpoint_test.go b/pkg/cfn/builder/vpc_endpoint_test.go
index 7a2d9ee2b2..91596140e2 100644
--- a/pkg/cfn/builder/vpc_endpoint_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cfn/builder/vpc_endpoint_test.go
@@ -543,7 +543,7 @@ func mockDescribeRouteTablesSame(provider *mockprovider.MockProvider, subnetIDs
 
 func makeZones(region string, count int) []string {
 	var ret []string
-	for i := 0; i < count; i++ {
+	for i := range count {
 		ret = append(ret, fmt.Sprintf("%s%c", region, 'a'+i))
 	}
 	return ret
diff --git a/pkg/cfn/manager/api.go b/pkg/cfn/manager/api.go
index f00b132ff0..7ac176cc6c 100644
--- a/pkg/cfn/manager/api.go
+++ b/pkg/cfn/manager/api.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"regexp"
+	"slices"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -276,10 +277,7 @@ func (c *StackCollection) PropagateManagedNodeGroupTagsToASG(ngName string, ngTa
 		var chunkedASGTags [][]asTypes.Tag
 		chunkSize := builder.MaximumCreatedTagNumberPerCall
 		for start := 0; start < len(asgTags); start += chunkSize {
-			end := start + chunkSize
-			if end > len(asgTags) {
-				end = len(asgTags)
-			}
+			end := min(start+chunkSize, len(asgTags))
 			chunkedASGTags = append(chunkedASGTags, asgTags[start:end])
 		}
 		// ...then create all of them in a loop
@@ -532,12 +530,7 @@ func (c *StackCollection) ListStacksWithStatuses(ctx context.Context, statusFilt
 
 // StackStatusIsNotTransitional will return true when stack status is non-transitional
 func (*StackCollection) StackStatusIsNotTransitional(s *Stack) bool {
-	for _, state := range nonTransitionalReadyStackStatuses() {
-		if s.StackStatus == state {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
+	return slices.Contains(nonTransitionalReadyStackStatuses(), s.StackStatus)
 }
 
 func nonTransitionalReadyStackStatuses() []types.StackStatus {
diff --git a/pkg/cfn/manager/api_test.go b/pkg/cfn/manager/api_test.go
index d6e3b6d574..91fc1984f7 100644
--- a/pkg/cfn/manager/api_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cfn/manager/api_test.go
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ var _ = Describe("StackCollection", func() {
 		It("cannot propagate tags in chunks of 25", func() {
 			// populate the createOrUpdateTagsSliceInput for easier generation of chunks
 			createOrUpdateTagsSliceInput := []asTypes.Tag{}
-			for i := 0; i < 30; i++ {
+			for i := range 30 {
 				tagKey, tagValue := fmt.Sprintf("tag_key_%d", i), fmt.Sprintf("tag_value_%d", i)
 				ngTags[tagKey] = tagValue
 				createOrUpdateTagsSliceInput = append(createOrUpdateTagsSliceInput, asTypes.Tag{
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ var _ = Describe("StackCollection", func() {
 		})
 		It("cannot propagate if too many tags", func() {
 			// fill parameters
-			for i := 0; i < builder.MaximumTagNumber+1; i++ {
+			for i := range builder.MaximumTagNumber + 1 {
 				ngTags[fmt.Sprintf("tag_key_%d", i)] = fmt.Sprintf("tag_value_%d", i)
 			}
 
diff --git a/pkg/cfn/manager/nodegroup.go b/pkg/cfn/manager/nodegroup.go
index ddb88f6c8e..1437ee07b2 100644
--- a/pkg/cfn/manager/nodegroup.go
+++ b/pkg/cfn/manager/nodegroup.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"maps"
 	"strings"
 
 	ekstypes "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks/types"
@@ -85,7 +86,6 @@ func (t *UnmanagedNodeGroupTask) Create(ctx context.Context, options CreateNodeG
 	taskTree := &tasks.TaskTree{Parallel: true, Limit: options.Parallelism}
 
 	for _, ng := range t.NodeGroups {
-		ng := ng
 		createAccessEntryInStack := ng.IAM.InstanceRoleARN == ""
 		createNodeGroupTask := &tasks.GenericTask{
 			Description: fmt.Sprintf("create nodegroup %q", ng.NameString()),
@@ -228,9 +228,7 @@ func (c *StackCollection) propagateManagedNodeGroupTagsToASGTask(ctx context.Con
 	})
 
 	// add nodegroup tags
-	for k, v := range ng.Tags {
-		tags[k] = v
-	}
+	maps.Copy(tags, ng.Tags)
 
 	return propagateFunc(ng.Name, tags, asgNames, errorCh)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/cloudconfig/cloudconfig.go b/pkg/cloudconfig/cloudconfig.go
index 857bdb35ef..f8d3c98b65 100644
--- a/pkg/cloudconfig/cloudconfig.go
+++ b/pkg/cloudconfig/cloudconfig.go
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ func (c *CloudConfig) Encode() (string, error) {
 		return "", err
 	}
 
-	data = append([]byte(fmt.Sprintln(header)), data...)
+	data = append(fmt.Appendln(nil, header), data...)
 
 	return encodeUserData(data)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/ctl/cmdutils/configfile.go b/pkg/ctl/cmdutils/configfile.go
index 0710d96bc6..6fa168f457 100644
--- a/pkg/ctl/cmdutils/configfile.go
+++ b/pkg/ctl/cmdutils/configfile.go
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/pkg/ctl/cmdutils/filter"
 	"github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/pkg/eks"
 	"github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/pkg/utils/names"
-	utilstrings "github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/pkg/utils/strings"
 )
 
 // AddConfigFileFlag adds common --config-file flag
@@ -467,7 +466,7 @@ func validateZonesAndNodeZones(cmd *cobra.Command) error {
 		nodeZones := strings.Split(strings.Trim(nodeZonesFlag.Value.String(), "[]"), ",")
 		zones := strings.Split(strings.Trim(zonesFlag.Value.String(), "[]"), ",")
 		for _, zone := range nodeZones {
-			if !utilstrings.Contains(zones, zone) {
+			if !slices.Contains(zones, zone) {
 				return fmt.Errorf("node-zones %s must be a subset of zones %s; %q was not found in zones", nodeZones, zones, zone)
 			}
 		}
@@ -1168,7 +1167,7 @@ func validateSupportedConfigFields(obj interface{}, supportedFields []string, un
 	t := v.Type()
 	for fieldNumber := 0; fieldNumber < v.NumField(); fieldNumber++ {
 		if !emptyConfigField(v.Field(fieldNumber)) {
-			if !contains(supportedFields, t.Field(fieldNumber).Name) {
+			if !slices.Contains(supportedFields, t.Field(fieldNumber).Name) {
 				unsupportedFields = append(unsupportedFields, t.Field(fieldNumber).Name)
 			}
 		}
@@ -1193,12 +1192,3 @@ func emptyConfigField(v reflect.Value) bool {
 	}
 	return false
 }
-
-func contains(supportedFields []string, fieldName string) bool {
-	for _, f := range supportedFields {
-		if f == fieldName {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
-}
diff --git a/pkg/ctl/cmdutils/filter/nodegroup_filter.go b/pkg/ctl/cmdutils/filter/nodegroup_filter.go
index 94e4ef39fc..983d07480d 100644
--- a/pkg/ctl/cmdutils/filter/nodegroup_filter.go
+++ b/pkg/ctl/cmdutils/filter/nodegroup_filter.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package filter
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"slices"
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks"
@@ -198,12 +199,7 @@ func (f *NodeGroupFilter) findAllNodeGroups(ctx context.Context, eksAPI awsapi.E
 }
 
 func nodeExists(stacks []string, stackName string) bool {
-	for _, s := range stacks {
-		if s == stackName {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
+	return slices.Contains(stacks, stackName)
 }
 
 func stackExists(stacks []manager.NodeGroupStack, stackName string) bool {
diff --git a/pkg/ctl/mcp/stdio_test.go b/pkg/ctl/mcp/stdio_test.go
index 6224606129..6c6a7889b1 100644
--- a/pkg/ctl/mcp/stdio_test.go
+++ b/pkg/ctl/mcp/stdio_test.go
@@ -254,8 +254,7 @@ func TestStdioServerMultipleRequests(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// Parse and verify each response - we don't need to check specific values
 	// Just verify we can parse the response
-	responseLines := strings.Split(strings.TrimSpace(response), "\n")
-	for _, line := range responseLines {
+	for line := range strings.Lines(strings.TrimSpace(response)) {
 		if line == "" {
 			continue
 		}
diff --git a/pkg/ctl/mcp/tools.go b/pkg/ctl/mcp/tools.go
index 2700594e5f..a29df35113 100644
--- a/pkg/ctl/mcp/tools.go
+++ b/pkg/ctl/mcp/tools.go
@@ -210,8 +210,7 @@ func createToolHandler(cmd *cobra.Command) server.ToolHandlerFunc {
 			case "stringSlice", "stringArray", "intSlice", "intArray":
 				// Handle arrays as comma-separated values
 				if value := request.GetString(name, ""); value != "" {
-					values := strings.Split(value, ",")
-					for _, v := range values {
+					for v := range strings.SplitSeq(value, ",") {
 						args = append(args, "--"+name, strings.TrimSpace(v))
 					}
 				}
diff --git a/pkg/drain/evictor/evictor.go b/pkg/drain/evictor/evictor.go
index 112069f531..f82379bbb2 100644
--- a/pkg/drain/evictor/evictor.go
+++ b/pkg/drain/evictor/evictor.go
@@ -112,11 +112,7 @@ func (d *Evictor) makeDeleteOptions(pod corev1.Pod) metav1.DeleteOptions {
 
 	gracePeriodSeconds := int64(corev1.DefaultTerminationGracePeriodSeconds)
 	if pod.Spec.TerminationGracePeriodSeconds != nil {
-		if *pod.Spec.TerminationGracePeriodSeconds < int64(d.maxGracePeriodSeconds) {
-			gracePeriodSeconds = *pod.Spec.TerminationGracePeriodSeconds
-		} else {
-			gracePeriodSeconds = int64(d.maxGracePeriodSeconds)
-		}
+		gracePeriodSeconds = min(*pod.Spec.TerminationGracePeriodSeconds, int64(d.maxGracePeriodSeconds))
 	}
 
 	deleteOptions.GracePeriodSeconds = &gracePeriodSeconds
diff --git a/pkg/drain/nodegroup.go b/pkg/drain/nodegroup.go
index 5024dfcfc4..d82d2c641e 100644
--- a/pkg/drain/nodegroup.go
+++ b/pkg/drain/nodegroup.go
@@ -141,7 +141,6 @@ func (n *NodeGroupDrainer) Drain(ctx context.Context, sem *semaphore.Weighted) e
 
 			g, ctx := errgroup.WithContext(ctx)
 			for _, node := range sets.List(newPendingNodes) {
-				node := node
 				g.Go(func() error {
 					if err := sem.Acquire(ctx, 1); err != nil {
 						return fmt.Errorf("failed to acquire semaphore: %w", err)
diff --git a/pkg/drain/nodegroup_test.go b/pkg/drain/nodegroup_test.go
index f70fc41e63..89ed11f2e4 100644
--- a/pkg/drain/nodegroup_test.go
+++ b/pkg/drain/nodegroup_test.go
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Drain", func() {
 				},
 			}
 
-			for i := 0; i < 2; i++ {
+			for i := range 2 {
 				fakeEvictor.GetPodsForEvictionReturnsOnCall(i, &evictor.PodDeleteList{
 					Items: []evictor.PodDelete{
 						{
diff --git a/pkg/eks/api.go b/pkg/eks/api.go
index e8427d19f9..721a81e7f2 100644
--- a/pkg/eks/api.go
+++ b/pkg/eks/api.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
+	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -265,12 +266,7 @@ func readConfig(configFile string, reader io.Reader) ([]byte, error) {
 
 // IsSupportedRegion check if given region is supported
 func (c *ClusterProvider) IsSupportedRegion() bool {
-	for _, supportedRegion := range api.SupportedRegions() {
-		if c.AWSProvider.Region() == supportedRegion {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
+	return slices.Contains(api.SupportedRegions(), c.AWSProvider.Region())
 }
 
 // GetCredentialsEnv returns the AWS credentials for env usage
diff --git a/pkg/eks/fargate.go b/pkg/eks/fargate.go
index 585fadf457..001f60b2f6 100644
--- a/pkg/eks/fargate.go
+++ b/pkg/eks/fargate.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"slices"
 	"time"
 
 	ekstypes "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks/types"
@@ -63,11 +64,9 @@ func (t *fargateProfilesTask) Do(errCh chan error) error {
 
 // Check if the target Fargate Profile already exists
 func targetFargateProfileExists(target string, profiles []string, clusterName string) bool {
-	for _, profileName := range profiles {
-		if target == profileName {
-			logger.Info("Fargate profile %q already exists on EKS cluster %q", target, clusterName)
-			return true
-		}
+	if slices.Contains(profiles, target) {
+		logger.Info("Fargate profile %q already exists on EKS cluster %q", target, clusterName)
+		return true
 	}
 	return false
 }
diff --git a/pkg/eks/tasks_test.go b/pkg/eks/tasks_test.go
index e34e2fcf40..7727d83102 100644
--- a/pkg/eks/tasks_test.go
+++ b/pkg/eks/tasks_test.go
@@ -161,7 +161,6 @@ var _ = Describe("ClusterTasksForNodeGroups", func() {
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range testCases {
-		tc := tc // capture range variable
 		It("returns the expected tasks", func() {
 			provider := mockprovider.NewMockProvider()
 			cfg := &v1alpha5.ClusterConfig{
diff --git a/pkg/eks/versions_manager.go b/pkg/eks/versions_manager.go
index 5690836933..b46555ff95 100644
--- a/pkg/eks/versions_manager.go
+++ b/pkg/eks/versions_manager.go
@@ -78,12 +78,7 @@ func (cvm *ClusterVersionsManager) SupportedVersions() []string {
 }
 
 func (cvm *ClusterVersionsManager) IsSupportedVersion(version string) bool {
-	for _, v := range cvm.SupportedVersions() {
-		if version == v {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
+	return slices.Contains(cvm.SupportedVersions(), version)
 }
 
 func (cvm *ClusterVersionsManager) DeprecatedVersions() []string {
@@ -91,12 +86,7 @@ func (cvm *ClusterVersionsManager) DeprecatedVersions() []string {
 }
 
 func (cvm *ClusterVersionsManager) IsDeprecatedVersion(version string) bool {
-	for _, v := range cvm.DeprecatedVersions() {
-		if version == v {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
+	return slices.Contains(cvm.DeprecatedVersions(), version)
 }
 
 func (cvm *ClusterVersionsManager) DefaultVersion() string {
diff --git a/pkg/fargate/coredns/coredns.go b/pkg/fargate/coredns/coredns.go
index 55837d9063..b5d54baeb9 100644
--- a/pkg/fargate/coredns/coredns.go
+++ b/pkg/fargate/coredns/coredns.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -33,10 +34,8 @@ const (
 // EKS' coredns deployment should be scheduled onto Fargate.
 func IsSchedulableOnFargate(profiles []*api.FargateProfile) bool {
 	for _, profile := range profiles {
-		for _, selector := range profile.Selectors {
-			if selectsCoreDNS(selector) {
-				return true
-			}
+		if slices.ContainsFunc(profile.Selectors, selectsCoreDNS) {
+			return true
 		}
 	}
 	return false
diff --git a/pkg/fargate/delete.go b/pkg/fargate/delete.go
index 430dd1e02a..874294d22e 100644
--- a/pkg/fargate/delete.go
+++ b/pkg/fargate/delete.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"slices"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks"
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ func (c *Client) waitForDeletion(ctx context.Context, name string) error {
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		if !contains(names, name) {
+		if !slices.Contains(names, name) {
 			return nil
 		}
 
@@ -84,12 +85,3 @@ func deleteRequest(clusterName string, profileName string) *eks.DeleteFargatePro
 	logger.Debug("Fargate profile: delete request: sending: %#v", request)
 	return request
 }
-
-func contains(array []string, target string) bool {
-	for _, value := range array {
-		if value == target {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
-}
diff --git a/pkg/fargate/fargate_test.go b/pkg/fargate/fargate_test.go
index 2a61601369..32a3247a8d 100644
--- a/pkg/fargate/fargate_test.go
+++ b/pkg/fargate/fargate_test.go
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ func mockForCreateFargateProfileWithWait(numRetries int) *mocksv2.EKS {
 	mockClient := mocksv2.EKS{}
 	mockCreateFargateProfile(&mockClient)
 	// Simulate a couple calls to AWS' API before the profile actually gets created:
-	for i := 0; i < numRetries; i++ {
+	for range numRetries {
 		mockDescribeFargateProfile(&mockClient, "default", "CREATING")
 	}
 	mockDescribeFargateProfile(&mockClient, "default", "ACTIVE") // At this point, the profile has been created.
@@ -522,7 +522,7 @@ func mockForDeleteFargateProfileWithWait(name string, numRetries int) *mocksv2.E
 	mockClient := mocksv2.EKS{}
 	mockDeleteFargateProfile(&mockClient, name)
 	// Simulate a couple calls to AWS' API before the profile actually gets deleted:
-	for i := 0; i < numRetries; i++ {
+	for range numRetries {
 		mockListFargateProfiles(&mockClient, name, "default")
 	}
 	mockListFargateProfiles(&mockClient, "default") // At this point, the profile has been deleted.
diff --git a/pkg/kubernetes/namespace.go b/pkg/kubernetes/namespace.go
index d63973b35e..02ef9d5361 100644
--- a/pkg/kubernetes/namespace.go
+++ b/pkg/kubernetes/namespace.go
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ func NewNamespaceYAML(name string) []byte {
 		},
 		"\n")
 
-	return []byte(fmt.Sprintf(nsFmt, name))
+	return fmt.Appendf(nil, nsFmt, name)
 }
 
 // CheckNamespaceExists check if a namespace with a given name already exists, and
diff --git a/pkg/managed/service.go b/pkg/managed/service.go
index e587b2f551..cdedde7b38 100644
--- a/pkg/managed/service.go
+++ b/pkg/managed/service.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"maps"
 
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks"
 	ekstypes "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks/types"
@@ -91,9 +92,7 @@ func (m *Service) UpdateLabels(ctx context.Context, nodeGroupName string, labels
 		return err
 	}
 
-	for k, v := range labelsToAdd {
-		newLabels[k] = v
-	}
+	maps.Copy(newLabels, labelsToAdd)
 
 	for _, k := range labelsToRemove {
 		delete(newLabels, k)
diff --git a/pkg/outposts/outposts.go b/pkg/outposts/outposts.go
index aab423a766..b6d733a90d 100644
--- a/pkg/outposts/outposts.go
+++ b/pkg/outposts/outposts.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 
@@ -132,10 +133,8 @@ func (o *Service) ValidateInstanceType(ctx context.Context, instanceType string)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error retrieving instance types for Outpost: %w", err)
 	}
-	for _, it := range instanceTypes {
-		if it == ec2types.InstanceType(instanceType) {
-			return nil
-		}
+	if slices.Contains(instanceTypes, ec2types.InstanceType(instanceType)) {
+		return nil
 	}
 	return fmt.Errorf("instance type %q does not exist in Outpost %q", instanceType, o.OutpostID)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/outposts/outposts_test.go b/pkg/outposts/outposts_test.go
index 090bfc6231..2482af3638 100644
--- a/pkg/outposts/outposts_test.go
+++ b/pkg/outposts/outposts_test.go
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Outposts Service", func() {
 			By("fetching the smallest available instance type")
 			count := 5
 			doneCh = runAssertion(count, func(wg *sync.WaitGroup) {
-				for i := 0; i < count; i++ {
+				for range count {
 					go func() {
 						defer GinkgoRecover()
 						defer wg.Done()
diff --git a/pkg/utils/kubeconfig/kubeconfig.go b/pkg/utils/kubeconfig/kubeconfig.go
index d52005033f..d29f3ca844 100644
--- a/pkg/utils/kubeconfig/kubeconfig.go
+++ b/pkg/utils/kubeconfig/kubeconfig.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package kubeconfig
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"maps"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path"
@@ -395,15 +396,9 @@ func getConfigAccess(explicitPath string) clientcmd.ConfigAccess {
 	return interface{}(pathOptions).(clientcmd.ConfigAccess)
 }
 func merge(existing *clientcmdapi.Config, tomerge *clientcmdapi.Config) *clientcmdapi.Config {
-	for k, v := range tomerge.Clusters {
-		existing.Clusters[k] = v
-	}
-	for k, v := range tomerge.AuthInfos {
-		existing.AuthInfos[k] = v
-	}
-	for k, v := range tomerge.Contexts {
-		existing.Contexts[k] = v
-	}
+	maps.Copy(existing.Clusters, tomerge.Clusters)
+	maps.Copy(existing.AuthInfos, tomerge.AuthInfos)
+	maps.Copy(existing.Contexts, tomerge.Contexts)
 
 	return existing
 }
diff --git a/pkg/utils/kubeconfig/kubeconfig_test.go b/pkg/utils/kubeconfig/kubeconfig_test.go
index 2f29c20fe0..52f24623d3 100644
--- a/pkg/utils/kubeconfig/kubeconfig_test.go
+++ b/pkg/utils/kubeconfig/kubeconfig_test.go
@@ -342,8 +342,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Kubeconfig", func() {
 		var wg sync.WaitGroup
 		multiplier := 3
 		iters := 10
-		for i := 0; i < multiplier; i++ {
-			for k := 0; k < iters; k++ {
+		for range multiplier {
+			for range iters {
 				wg.Add(1)
 				go func() {
 					defer wg.Done()
diff --git a/pkg/utils/names/names.go b/pkg/utils/names/names.go
index c57a807879..7f2ad72099 100644
--- a/pkg/utils/names/names.go
+++ b/pkg/utils/names/names.go
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ func useNameOrGenerate(a, b string, generate func() string) string {
 // characters in the provided set.
 func RandomName(length int, chars string) string {
 	randomName := make([]byte, length)
-	for i := 0; i < length; i++ {
+	for i := range length {
 		randomName[i] = chars[r.Intn(len(chars))]
 	}
 	return string(randomName)
diff --git a/pkg/utils/strings/strings.go b/pkg/utils/strings/strings.go
index 85682a5d76..2b69a6edac 100644
--- a/pkg/utils/strings/strings.go
+++ b/pkg/utils/strings/strings.go
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 package strings
 
-import "strings"
+import (
+	"slices"
+	"strings"
+)
 
 // Pointer returns a pointer to the provided string.
 func Pointer(s string) *string {
@@ -97,11 +100,8 @@ func ToValuesArray(in []*string) []string {
 }
 
 // Contains returns true if the value is contained in the string list.
+//
+// Deprecated: use [slices.Contains] instead.
 func Contains(list []string, value string) bool {
-	for _, v := range list {
-		if v == value {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
+	return slices.Contains(list, value)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/utils/tasks/tasks.go b/pkg/utils/tasks/tasks.go
index a7fc346eb1..dc21f81ed9 100644
--- a/pkg/utils/tasks/tasks.go
+++ b/pkg/utils/tasks/tasks.go
@@ -231,7 +231,6 @@ func runInErrorGroup(tasks []Task, limit int, errs chan error) {
 	var eg errgroup.Group
 	eg.SetLimit(limit)
 	for _, t := range tasks {
-		t := t
 		eg.Go(func() error {
 			if ok := doSingleTask(errs, t); !ok {
 				logger.Debug("failed task: %s (will continue until other parallel tasks are completed)", t.Describe())
diff --git a/pkg/vpc/vpc.go b/pkg/vpc/vpc.go
index 9e00226601..d74398a2c3 100644
--- a/pkg/vpc/vpc.go
+++ b/pkg/vpc/vpc.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/binary"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"maps"
 	"net"
 	"slices"
 	"strings"
@@ -171,7 +172,7 @@ func SplitInto(parent *net.IPNet, size, networkLength int) ([]*net.IPNet, error)
 		return nil, errors.New("CIDR block size must be between a /16 netmask and /28 netmask")
 	}
 	var subnets []*net.IPNet
-	for i := 0; i < size; i++ {
+	for i := range size {
 		ip4 := parent.IP.To4()
 		if ip4 == nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unexpected IP address type: %s", parent)
@@ -492,9 +493,7 @@ func ImportSubnets(ctx context.Context, ec2API awsapi.EC2, spec *api.ClusterConf
 	// as subnetMapping will be populated / altered within ImportSubnet,
 	// we want to keep an unchanged copy for local against remote VPC config validation
 	localSubnetConfig := api.AZSubnetMapping{}
-	for k, v := range subnetMapping {
-		localSubnetConfig[k] = v
-	}
+	maps.Copy(localSubnetConfig, subnetMapping)
 
 	for _, sn := range subnets {
 		if spec.VPC.ID == "" {