diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..97776f1cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Non-security issues and pull requests are no longer being accepted for the legacy PHPMailer 5.2 branch. Migrate to PHPMailer 6.0 (or later) and report your issue there.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..97776f1cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Non-security issues and pull requests are no longer being accepted for the legacy PHPMailer 5.2 branch. Migrate to PHPMailer 6.0 (or later) and report your issue there.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 6ca8e95fc..f23b9706d 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-5.2.24
+5.2.25
diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md
index 1777ec4a4..a3648c4b7 100644
--- a/changelog.md
+++ b/changelog.md
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 # ChangeLog
 
+## Version 5.2.25 (August 2th 2917)
 * Make obtaining SMTP transaction ID more reliable
 * Add Bosnian translation
+* This is the last official release in the legacy PHPMailer 5.2 series; there may be future security patches (which will be found in the [5.2-stable branch](https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/tree/5.2-stable)), but no further non-security PRs or issues will be accepted. Migrate to PHPMailer 6.0.
 
 ## Version 5.2.24 (July 26th 2017)
 * **SECURITY** Fix XSS vulnerability in one of the code examples, [CVE-2017-11503](https://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2017-11503). The `code_generator.phps` example did not filter user input prior to output. This file is distributed with a `.phps` extension, so it it not normally executable unless it is explicitly renamed, so it is safe by default. There was also an undisclosed potential XSS vulnerability in the default exception handler (unused by default). Patches for both issues kindly provided by Patrick Monnerat of the Fedora Project.
diff --git a/class.phpmailer.php b/class.phpmailer.php
index acc006d6b..8042b3849 100644
--- a/class.phpmailer.php
+++ b/class.phpmailer.php
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ class PHPMailer
      * The PHPMailer Version number.
      * @var string
      */
-    public $Version = '5.2.24';
+    public $Version = '5.2.25';
 
     /**
      * Email priority.
diff --git a/class.pop3.php b/class.pop3.php
index 330c73a13..f2c4e3744 100644
--- a/class.pop3.php
+++ b/class.pop3.php
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class POP3
      * @var string
      * @access public
      */
-    public $Version = '5.2.24';
+    public $Version = '5.2.25';
 
     /**
      * Default POP3 port number.
diff --git a/class.smtp.php b/class.smtp.php
index 177bb7a18..d8af427e8 100644
--- a/class.smtp.php
+++ b/class.smtp.php
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class SMTP
      * The PHPMailer SMTP version number.
      * @var string
      */
-    const VERSION = '5.2.24';
+    const VERSION = '5.2.25';
 
     /**
      * SMTP line break constant.
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ class SMTP
      * @deprecated Use the `VERSION` constant instead
      * @see SMTP::VERSION
      */
-    public $Version = '5.2.24';
+    public $Version = '5.2.25';
 
     /**
      * SMTP server port number.