diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/roles/compatibility_layer/tasks/install_packages.yml b/ansible/playbooks/roles/compatibility_layer/tasks/install_packages.yml
index d8d1efea..e48915f6 100644
--- a/ansible/playbooks/roles/compatibility_layer/tasks/install_packages.yml
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/roles/compatibility_layer/tasks/install_packages.yml
@@ -39,3 +39,13 @@
       {{ '::' + item.overlay if item.overlay is defined }}"
     state: present
   loop: "{{ eessi_os_arch_packages }}"
+
+- name: Update already installed packages
+  community.general.portage:
+    package: "={{ item.name }}-{{ item.version }}{{ '::' + item.overlay if item.overlay is defined }}"
+    state: present
+    oneshot: true
+    verbose: true
+  loop: "{{ update_packages }}"
+
+...
diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/roles/compatibility_layer/vars/2026.06.yml b/ansible/playbooks/roles/compatibility_layer/vars/2026.06.yml
index 9457f227..1ec09b95 100644
--- a/ansible/playbooks/roles/compatibility_layer/vars/2026.06.yml
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/roles/compatibility_layer/vars/2026.06.yml
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@ custom_overlays:
 # Select a specific commit in the gentoo_git_repo that should be used for the bootstrap,
 # e.g. by checking: https://github.com/gentoo/gentoo/commits/master
 # Jun 17 2026: commit that includes Lmod 9.2.4 and a crates.io rate limit fix (by using its CDN)
-gentoo_git_commit: 91ee4d032fd7b2cf2704f542c78ec12899016bef
+# Oct 21 2026: commit that inludes Lmod 9.4
+gentoo_git_commit: ab1a510b5fbc4dd0059292a439f655291c408a52
 
 prefix_user_defined_trusted_dirs:
     - "/cvmfs/{{ cvmfs_repository }}/versions/{{ eessi_version }}/compat/{{ eessi_host_os }}/{{ eessi_host_arch }}/lib/override"
@@ -109,6 +110,10 @@ prefix_remove_packages:
     - dev-util/hermes
     - virtual/rust
 
+update_packages:
+    - name: sys-cluster/lmod
+      version: 9.4
+
 # version of ReFrame to use for running the tests
 # stick to 4.9.3 for now, as 4.10.0 required a newer Rust in the container
 reframe_version: 4.9.3
diff --git a/bot/build_type b/bot/build_type
index 3e757656..4ea5e4dd 100644
--- a/bot/build_type
+++ b/bot/build_type
@@ -1 +1 @@
-new
+update