diff --git a/qa/evil-tests/build.gradle b/qa/evil-tests/build.gradle
index 556aa8643f625..3ab382cac6e12 100644
--- a/qa/evil-tests/build.gradle
+++ b/qa/evil-tests/build.gradle
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ dependencies {
   testImplementation(project(':distribution:tools:plugin-cli')) {
     exclude group: 'org.bouncycastle'
   }
-  testCompileOnly "com.github.spotbugs:spotbugs-annotations:4.9.4"
+  testCompileOnly "com.github.spotbugs:spotbugs-annotations:4.9.6"
 }
 
 // TODO: give each evil test its own fresh JVM for more isolation.