diff --git a/qa/rolling-upgrade/build.gradle b/qa/rolling-upgrade/build.gradle
index 2b40623bfc8..de6ec759495 100644
--- a/qa/rolling-upgrade/build.gradle
+++ b/qa/rolling-upgrade/build.gradle
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ task oldClusterTest(type: RestIntegTestTask) {
     cluster {
         plugin ':x-pack-elasticsearch:plugin'
         distribution = 'zip'
-        bwcVersion = '5.3.0-SNAPSHOT' // TODO: either randomize, or make this settable with sysprop
+        bwcVersion = '5.4.0-SNAPSHOT' // TODO: either randomize, or make this settable with sysprop
         numBwcNodes = 2
         numNodes = 2
         clusterName = 'rolling-upgrade'