diff --git a/e2e-tests/pom.xml b/e2e-tests/pom.xml
index c46bb78eb..08fd21edf 100644
--- a/e2e-tests/pom.xml
+++ b/e2e-tests/pom.xml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
     <artifactId>e2e-tests</artifactId>
 
     <properties>
-        <kafka.version>3.3.1</kafka.version>
+        <kafka.version>7.7.1-ce</kafka.version>
         <contract>${project.version}</contract>
         <maven.compiler.release>17</maven.compiler.release>
         <maven.surefire.release>3.2.3</maven.surefire.release>