diff --git a/.github/workflows/downstream.yaml b/.github/workflows/downstream.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a675b7ec74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/downstream.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+# Copyright 2022 Google LLC
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+# Github action job to test core java library features on
+# downstream client libraries before they are released.
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    types: [ labeled ]
+    branches:
+    - main
+name: downstream
+jobs:
+  dependencies:
+    if: ${{ github.event.label.name == 'downstream-check:run' }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        java: [17]
+        repo:
+        # This list needs to be updated manually until an automated solution is in place.
+        - accessapproval
+        - accesscontextmanager
+        - aiplatform
+        - analytics-admin
+        - analytics-data
+        - api-gateway
+        - apigee-connect
+        - appengine-admin
+        - area120-tables
+        - artifact-registry
+        - asset
+        - assured-workloads
+        - automl
+        - bigquery
+        - bigqueryconnection
+        - bigquerydatatransfer
+        - bigquerymigration
+        - bigqueryreservation
+        - bigtable
+        - billing
+        - billingbudgets
+        - binary-authorization
+        - channel
+        - cloudbuild
+        - compute
+        - contact-center-insights
+        - container
+        - containeranalysis
+        - data-fusion
+        - datacatalog
+        - dataflow
+        - datalabeling
+        - dataproc
+        - dataproc-metastore
+        - datastore
+        - datastream
+        - debugger-client
+        - deploy
+        - dialogflow
+        - dialogflow-cx
+        - dlp
+        - dms
+        - dns
+        - document-ai
+        - domains
+        - errorreporting
+        - essential-contacts
+        - eventarc
+        - filestore
+        - firestore
+        - functions
+        - game-servers
+        - gke-connect-gateway
+        - gkehub
+        - gsuite-addons
+        - iam-admin
+        - iamcredentials
+        - iot
+        - kms
+        - language
+        - life-sciences
+        - logging
+        - logging-logback
+        - managed-identities
+        - mediatranslation
+        - memcache
+        - monitoring
+        - monitoring-dashboards
+        - network-management
+        - network-security
+        - networkconnectivity
+        - notebooks
+        - orchestration-airflow
+        - orgpolicy
+        - os-config
+        - os-login
+        - phishingprotection
+        - policy-troubleshooter
+        - private-catalog
+        - profiler
+        - pubsublite
+        - recaptchaenterprise
+        - recommendations-ai
+        - recommender
+        - redis
+        - resource-settings
+        - resourcemanager
+        - retail
+        - scheduler
+        - secretmanager
+        - security-private-ca
+        - securitycenter
+        - securitycenter-settings
+        - service-control
+        - service-management
+        - service-usage
+        - servicedirectory
+        - shell
+        - spanner
+        - spanner-jdbc
+        - speech
+        - storage
+        - storage-nio
+        - storage-transfer
+        - talent
+        - tasks
+        - texttospeech
+        - tpu
+        - trace
+        - translate
+        - video-intelligence
+        - video-transcoder
+        - vision
+        - vpcaccess
+        - webrisk
+        - websecurityscanner
+        - workflow-executions
+        - workflows
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+    - uses: actions/setup-java@v1
+      with:
+        java-version: ${{matrix.java}}
+    - run: java -version
+    - run: sudo apt-get install libxml2-utils
+    - run: .kokoro/downstream-client-library-check.sh google-cloud-core-bom ${{matrix.repo}}
diff --git a/.kokoro/downstream-client-library-check.sh b/.kokoro/downstream-client-library-check.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..c1e13911b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.kokoro/downstream-client-library-check.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Copyright 2022 Google LLC
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+set -eo pipefail
+# Display commands being run.
+set -x
+
+CORE_LIBRARY_ARTIFACT=$1
+CLIENT_LIBRARY=$2
+## Get the directory of the build script
+scriptDir="$(realpath "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")")"
+## cd to the parent directory, i.e. the root of the git repo
+cd "${scriptDir}"/..
+
+# Make java core library artifacts available for 'mvn install' at the bottom
+mvn verify install -B -V -ntp -fae \
+-DskipTests=true \
+-Dmaven.javadoc.skip=true \
+-Dgcloud.download.skip=true \
+-Denforcer.skip=true
+
+# Namespace (xmlns) prevents xmllint from specifying tag names in XPath
+CORE_VERSION=$(sed -e 's/xmlns=".*"//' pom.xml | xmllint --xpath '/project/version/text()' -)
+
+if [ -z "${CORE_VERSION}" ]; then
+  echo "Version is not found in ${CORE_VERSION_POM}"
+  exit 1
+fi
+echo "Version: ${CORE_VERSION}"
+
+# Round 1
+# Check this java core library against HEAD of java-shared dependencies
+
+git clone "https://github.com/googleapis/java-shared-dependencies.git" --depth=1
+pushd java-shared-dependencies/first-party-dependencies
+
+# replace version
+xmllint --shell pom.xml << EOF
+setns x=http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0
+cd .//x:artifactId[text()="${CORE_LIBRARY_ARTIFACT}"]
+cd ../x:version
+set ${CORE_VERSION}
+save pom.xml
+EOF
+
+# run dependencies script
+cd ..
+
+mvn verify install -B -V -ntp -fae \
+-DskipTests=true \
+-Dmaven.javadoc.skip=true \
+-Dgcloud.download.skip=true \
+-Denforcer.skip=true
+
+# Namespace (xmlns) prevents xmllint from specifying tag names in XPath
+SHARED_DEPS_VERSION=$(sed -e 's/xmlns=".*"//' pom.xml | xmllint --xpath '/project/version/text()' -)
+
+if [ -z "${SHARED_DEPS_VERSION}" ]; then
+  echo "Version is not found in ${SHARED_DEPS_VERSION_POM}"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Round 2
+
+# Check this BOM against java client libraries
+git clone "https://github.com/googleapis/java-${CLIENT_LIBRARY}.git" --depth=1
+pushd java-"${CLIENT_LIBRARY}"
+
+if [[ $CLIENT_LIBRARY == "bigtable" ]]; then
+  pushd google-cloud-bigtable-deps-bom
+fi
+
+# replace version
+xmllint --shell pom.xml << EOF
+setns x=http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0
+cd .//x:artifactId[text()="google-cloud-shared-dependencies"]
+cd ../x:version
+set ${SHARED_DEPS_VERSION}
+save pom.xml
+EOF
+
+if [[ $CLIENT_LIBRARY == "bigtable" ]]; then
+  popd
+fi
+
+mvn verify install -B -V -ntp -fae \
+-Dmaven.javadoc.skip=true \
+-Dgcloud.download.skip=true \
+-Denforcer.skip=true
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d114fd1c2a..1ab847f0c1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 # Changelog
 
+### [2.5.4](https://github.com/googleapis/java-core/compare/v2.5.3...v2.5.4) (2022-02-11)
+
+
+### Dependencies
+
+* update actions/github-script action to v6 ([#724](https://github.com/googleapis/java-core/issues/724)) ([b8673d3](https://github.com/googleapis/java-core/commit/b8673d3b3ae08cbfed135cd7ff9d891c04e90611))
+
 ### [2.5.3](https://github.com/googleapis/java-core/compare/v2.5.2...v2.5.3) (2022-02-10)
 
 
diff --git a/google-cloud-core-bom/pom.xml b/google-cloud-core-bom/pom.xml
index eb78344163..40f7a10d43 100644
--- a/google-cloud-core-bom/pom.xml
+++ b/google-cloud-core-bom/pom.xml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
   <artifactId>google-cloud-core-bom</artifactId>
-  <version>2.5.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+  <version>2.5.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
   <packaging>pom</packaging>
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
@@ -63,22 +63,22 @@
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
         <artifactId>google-cloud-core</artifactId>
-        <version>2.5.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+        <version>2.5.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
         <artifactId>google-cloud-core-grpc</artifactId>
-        <version>2.5.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+        <version>2.5.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
         <artifactId>google-cloud-core-http</artifactId>
-        <version>2.5.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+        <version>2.5.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
         <artifactId>native-image-support</artifactId>
-        <version>0.12.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:native-image-support:current} -->
+        <version>0.12.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:native-image-support:current} -->
       </dependency>
     </dependencies>
   </dependencyManagement>
diff --git a/google-cloud-core-grpc/pom.xml b/google-cloud-core-grpc/pom.xml
index 1262e6e0bc..ea9a5b742e 100644
--- a/google-cloud-core-grpc/pom.xml
+++ b/google-cloud-core-grpc/pom.xml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
   <artifactId>google-cloud-core-grpc</artifactId>
-  <version>2.5.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+  <version>2.5.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   <name>Google Cloud Core gRPC</name>
   <url>https://github.com/googleapis/java-core</url>
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-core-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>2.5.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+    <version>2.5.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
   </parent>
   <properties>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-core-grpc</site.installationModule>
diff --git a/google-cloud-core-http/pom.xml b/google-cloud-core-http/pom.xml
index 35711dfdc1..83acd443e7 100644
--- a/google-cloud-core-http/pom.xml
+++ b/google-cloud-core-http/pom.xml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
   <artifactId>google-cloud-core-http</artifactId>
-  <version>2.5.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+  <version>2.5.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   <name>Google Cloud Core HTTP</name>
   <url>https://github.com/googleapis/java-core</url>
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-core-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>2.5.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+    <version>2.5.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
   </parent>
   <properties>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-core-http</site.installationModule>
diff --git a/google-cloud-core/pom.xml b/google-cloud-core/pom.xml
index 3feadea21f..637fd84d5a 100644
--- a/google-cloud-core/pom.xml
+++ b/google-cloud-core/pom.xml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
   <artifactId>google-cloud-core</artifactId>
-  <version>2.5.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+  <version>2.5.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   <name>Google Cloud Core</name>
   <url>https://github.com/googleapis/java-core</url>
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-core-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>2.5.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+    <version>2.5.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
   </parent>
   <properties>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-core</site.installationModule>
diff --git a/native-image-support/pom.xml b/native-image-support/pom.xml
index 1f8d950b23..93aca9597f 100644
--- a/native-image-support/pom.xml
+++ b/native-image-support/pom.xml
@@ -7,13 +7,13 @@
   <name>Google Cloud Native Image Support</name>
   <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
   <artifactId>native-image-support</artifactId>
-  <version>0.12.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:native-image-support:current} -->
+  <version>0.12.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:native-image-support:current} -->
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
 
   <parent>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-core-parent</artifactId>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
-    <version>2.5.3</version> <!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+    <version>2.5.4</version> <!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
   </parent>
 
   <description>
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index a0d246dfbe..6f6a1c1a89 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
   <artifactId>google-cloud-core-parent</artifactId>
   <packaging>pom</packaging>
-  <version>2.5.3</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
+  <version>2.5.4</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-core:current} -->
   <name>Google Cloud Core Parent</name>
   <url>https://github.com/googleapis/java-core</url>
   <description>
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>3.3.1</version>
+        <version>3.3.2</version>
         <reportSets>
           <reportSet>
             <id>html</id>
diff --git a/versions.txt b/versions.txt
index 7a376e1a81..2e56949fe1 100644
--- a/versions.txt
+++ b/versions.txt
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # Format:
 # module:released-version:current-version
 
-google-cloud-core:2.5.3:2.5.3
-native-image-support:0.12.3:0.12.3
\ No newline at end of file
+google-cloud-core:2.5.4:2.5.4
+native-image-support:0.12.4:0.12.4
\ No newline at end of file