[2.4.x] Merge r1935191, r1935192, r1935193, r1935926, r1935935, r1935941, r1936259, r1936260, r1936262, r1936263, r1936264, r1937041 from trunk - #703

Node.js 20 is deprecated. The following actions target Node.js 20 but are being forced to run on Node.js 24: actions/cache@v4, actions/checkout@v4. For more information see: https://github.blog/changelog/2025-09-19-deprecation-of-node-20-on-github-actions-runners/