diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 4eb4499..cfd1a4e 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 # CMake versions greater than the JSONCPP_NEWEST_VALIDATED_POLICIES_VERSION policies will
 # continue to generate policy warnings "CMake Warning (dev)...Policy CMP0XXX is not set:"
 #
-set(JSONCPP_OLDEST_VALIDATED_POLICIES_VERSION "3.8.0")
+set(JSONCPP_OLDEST_VALIDATED_POLICIES_VERSION "3.10.0")
 set(JSONCPP_NEWEST_VALIDATED_POLICIES_VERSION "3.13.2")
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION ${JSONCPP_OLDEST_VALIDATED_POLICIES_VERSION})
 if("${CMAKE_VERSION}" VERSION_LESS "${JSONCPP_NEWEST_VALIDATED_POLICIES_VERSION}")
diff --git a/RELEASE_1.9.7.md b/RELEASE_1.9.7.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a09ce4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/RELEASE_1.9.7.md
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# jsoncpp 1.9.7 Release Work
+
+Issues to fix before tagging 1.9.7, each in a separate CL.
+
+---
+
+## Done
+
+- [x] **#1656** — Fix uninitialized CMake variable `JSONCPP_VERSION` in `version.in`
+  → Change `@JSONCPP_VERSION@` to `@jsoncpp_VERSION@`
+
+---
+
+## To Do
+
+### Security / Memory Safety
+
+- [ ] **#1626** — MemorySanitizer: use-of-uninitialized-value in `Json::Value::resolveReference`
+  → Uninitialized value detected by MSan in `json_value.cpp`. Need to identify and zero-initialize the offending member.
+
+- [ ] **#1623** — Use-after-free: `Json::Reader::parse` stores raw pointers into input string
+  → `Reader` stores `begin_`/`end_` pointers that dangle after the input `std::string` goes out of scope. `getFormattedErrorMessages()` then reads freed memory.
+  → Fix: copy the input document internally, or clearly document the lifetime requirement (the simpler option given the old Reader API is deprecated).
+
+### Correctness
+
+- [ ] **#1565** — Number parsing breaks when user sets a non-C locale (e.g. `de_DE`)
+  → `istringstream`/`ostringstream` used for number parsing/writing inherit the global locale, which may use `,` as decimal separator instead of `.`.
+  → Fix: imbue streams with `std::locale::classic()` in `json_reader.cpp` and `json_writer.cpp`.
+
+- [ ] **#1546** — Control characters below 0x20 not rejected during parsing
+  → JSON spec requires rejecting unescaped control characters. jsoncpp currently accepts them.
+
+### Build / CMake
+
+- [ ] **#1634** — `JSON_DLL_BUILD` compile definition applied globally instead of per-target
+  → `add_compile_definitions` scopes it to all targets; should use `target_compile_definitions` scoped to the shared lib only.
+
+- [x] **#1598** — CMake 3.31 deprecation warning about compatibility with CMake < 3.10
+  → Update `cmake_minimum_required` to use `<min>...<max>` version range syntax, e.g. `cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10...3.31)`.
+
+- [ ] **#1595** — Linker errors with `string_view` API when jsoncpp built as C++11 but consumer uses C++17
+  → Root cause: `JSONCPP_HAS_STRING_VIEW` is not defined when building the library (forced C++11), but consumer with C++17 sees the `string_view` overloads in headers and tries to link them.
+  → Fix options: (a) export `JSONCPP_HAS_STRING_VIEW` in the CMake config so consumers see the same value, or (b) drop `CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD` force and use `target_compile_features(cxx_std_11)` instead.
+
+---
+
+## Skipped (not bugs)
+
+- **#1548** — "Memory leak" after parsing large files: confirmed to be normal allocator behavior (OS doesn't immediately reclaim heap). Not a library bug.
+- **#1533** — `clear()` then adding values fails: `clear()` preserves the value type by design. Confirmed user error.
+- **#1547** — Trailing commas/garbage not rejected: existing behavior, controllable via `strictMode()`. Not a regression.