diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 4f7dae1b44..dd6afda905 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ endif
 SHELL = /usr/bin/env bash -o pipefail
 .SHELLFLAGS = -ec
 
-VERSION ?= 26.6.0-bandwidth.5
+VERSION ?= 26.6.0-bandwidth.6
 
 # mariadb-operator
 IMG_NAME ?= ghcr.io/mariadb-operator/mariadb-operator
diff --git a/docs/docker.md b/docs/docker.md
index cbc1544efe..81eac0c5c5 100644
--- a/docs/docker.md
+++ b/docs/docker.md
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     </tr>
     <tr>
       <td>MariaDB Operator</td>
-	    <td><code>ghcr.io/mariadb-operator/mariadb-operator:26.6.0-bandwidth.5</code></td>
+	    <td><code>ghcr.io/mariadb-operator/mariadb-operator:26.6.0-bandwidth.6</code></td>
       <td><code>amd64</code> <code>arm64</code></td>
     </tr>
   </tbody>
diff --git a/examples/manifests/mariadb_replication.yaml b/examples/manifests/mariadb_replication.yaml
index c5565cbcda..7379a817ae 100644
--- a/examples/manifests/mariadb_replication.yaml
+++ b/examples/manifests/mariadb_replication.yaml
@@ -66,10 +66,10 @@ spec:
     # syncBinlog: 1
     # Init container that cooperates with mariadb-operator.
     # initContainer:
-    #   image: ghcr.io/mariadb-operator/mariadb-operator:26.6.0-bandwidth.5
+    #   image: ghcr.io/mariadb-operator/mariadb-operator:26.6.0-bandwidth.6
     # Agent sidecar that cooperates with mariadb-operator.
     # agent:
-    #   image: ghcr.io/mariadb-operator/mariadb-operator:26.6.0-bandwidth.5
+    #   image: ghcr.io/mariadb-operator/mariadb-operator:26.6.0-bandwidth.6
   
   service:
     type: LoadBalancer
diff --git a/internal/controller/mariadb_controller_external_repl_init.go b/internal/controller/mariadb_controller_external_repl_init.go
index 35d47daebc..70f55f605c 100644
--- a/internal/controller/mariadb_controller_external_repl_init.go
+++ b/internal/controller/mariadb_controller_external_repl_init.go
@@ -377,7 +377,26 @@ func getBinlogExpireLogsDuration(emdb *mariadbv1alpha1.ExternalMariaDB, ctx cont
 	var binlogExpireLogsSecondsStr string
 	var binlogExpireLogsSeconds int
 
-	if semver.Compare("v"+emdb.Status.Version, "v10.6.1") >= 0 {
+	isRDS := false
+
+	// Check if it is an RDS instance
+	if user_exist, err := external_client.UserExists(ctx, "rdsadmin", "localhost"); err != nil && user_exist {
+		if table_exists, err := external_client.TableExists(ctx, "mysql", "rds_configuration"); err != nil && table_exists {
+			logger.Info("RDS config found")
+			isRDS = true
+		}
+		logger.Info("AWS user detected")
+	}
+
+	if isRDS {
+		logger.Info("Using 'binlog retention hours' in mysql.rds_configuration", "version", emdb.Status.Version)
+		binlogExpireLogsHourStr, err := external_client.RDSConfiguration(ctx, "binlog retention hours")
+		if err != nil {
+			return time.Duration(0), fmt.Errorf("unable to get 'binlog retention hours' from RDS instance: %v", err)
+		}
+		binlogExpireLogsHour, _ := strconv.Atoi(binlogExpireLogsHourStr)
+		binlogExpireLogsSeconds = binlogExpireLogsHour * 3600
+	} else if semver.Compare("v"+emdb.Status.Version, "v10.6.1") >= 0 {
 		logger.Info("Using binlog_expire_logs_seconds", "version", emdb.Status.Version)
 		binlogExpireLogsSecondsStr, err = external_client.SystemVariable(ctx, "binlog_expire_logs_seconds")
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/sql/sql.go b/pkg/sql/sql.go
index 582d474f39..c611e1abeb 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/sql.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/sql.go
@@ -598,6 +598,22 @@ func (c *Client) UserExists(ctx context.Context, username, host string) (bool, e
 	return count > 0, nil
 }
 
+func (c *Client) TableExists(ctx context.Context, schema string, table string) (bool, error) {
+
+	row := c.db.QueryRowContext(ctx, `
+	SELECT COUNT(*) AS table_exists
+	FROM information_schema.tables 
+	WHERE 
+		table_schema = ? 
+  		AND table_name = ?;
+	`, schema, table)
+	var count int
+	if err := row.Scan(&count); err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return count > 0, nil
+}
+
 func (c *Client) GrantExists(ctx context.Context,
 	privileges []string,
 	database string,
@@ -778,6 +794,17 @@ func (c *Client) SystemVariable(ctx context.Context, variable string) (string, e
 	return val, nil
 }
 
+func (c *Client) RDSConfiguration(ctx context.Context, config string) (string, error) {
+	sql := fmt.Sprintf("SELECT value FROM mysql.rds_configuration WHERE name = '%s';", config)
+	row := c.db.QueryRowContext(ctx, sql)
+
+	var val string
+	if err := row.Scan(&val); err != nil {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	return val, nil
+}
+
 func (c *Client) IsSystemVariableEnabled(ctx context.Context, variable string) (bool, error) {
 	val, err := c.SystemVariable(ctx, variable)
 	if err != nil {