diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index ecbab3372..dece41f6f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -49,11 +49,6 @@ jobs:
             os: ubuntu-latest
             test_fuse: true
 
-          - job_name: Linux
-            go: 1.25.x
-            os: ubuntu-latest
-            test_fuse: true
-
     name: ${{ matrix.job_name }} Go ${{ matrix.go }}
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
 
diff --git a/build.go b/build.go
index a1447d9b0..f4f5f5b04 100644
--- a/build.go
+++ b/build.go
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ var config = Config{
 	// see https://github.com/googleapis/google-cloud-go/issues/11448
 	DefaultBuildTags: []string{"selfupdate", "disable_grpc_modules"}, // specify build tags which are always used
 	Tests:            []string{"./..."},                              // tests to run
-	MinVersion:       GoVersion{Major: 1, Minor: 25, Patch: 0},       // minimum Go version supported
+	MinVersion:       GoVersion{Major: 1, Minor: 26, Patch: 0},       // minimum Go version supported
 }
 
 // Config configures the build.
diff --git a/changelog/unreleased/pull-22121 b/changelog/unreleased/pull-22121
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ef8c01f21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/unreleased/pull-22121
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+Change: Require Go 1.26 or newer
+
+Building restic now requires Go 1.26 or newer.
+
+https://github.com/restic/restic/pull/22121
diff --git a/doc/020_installation.rst b/doc/020_installation.rst
index ea09f2a44..517e5d54d 100644
--- a/doc/020_installation.rst
+++ b/doc/020_installation.rst
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ From source
 ***********
 
 restic is written in the Go programming language and you need at least
-Go version 1.25. Building restic may also work with older versions of Go,
+Go version 1.26. Building restic may also work with older versions of Go,
 but that's not supported. See the `Getting
 started <https://go.dev/doc/install>`__ guide of the Go project for
 instructions how to install Go.
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index d5b49952f..ccc727673 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 module github.com/restic/restic
 
-go 1.25.8
+go 1.26.0
 
-toolchain go1.25.10
+toolchain go1.26.9
 
 // keep the old behavior for reparse points on windows until handling reparse points has been improved in restic
 // https://forum.restic.net/t/windows-junction-backup-with-go1-23-or-later/8940
diff --git a/internal/backend/sftp/sftp.go b/internal/backend/sftp/sftp.go
index f33f2b42d..4390e2815 100644
--- a/internal/backend/sftp/sftp.go
+++ b/internal/backend/sftp/sftp.go
@@ -625,8 +625,8 @@ func (r *SFTP) Close() error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	// get the error, but ignore it
-	<-r.result
+	//nolint:staticcheck // get the error, but ignore it
+	_ = <-r.result
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/backend/test/tests.go b/internal/backend/test/tests.go
index 2c996b2ac..8c7a99324 100644
--- a/internal/backend/test/tests.go
+++ b/internal/backend/test/tests.go
@@ -545,7 +545,7 @@ func (s *Suite[C]) TestSave(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 
 		if fi.Size != int64(len(data)) {
-			t.Errorf("Stat() returned different size, want %q, got %d", len(data), fi.Size)
+			t.Errorf("Stat() returned different size, want %d, got %d", len(data), fi.Size)
 		}
 
 		err = b.Remove(context.TODO(), h)
diff --git a/internal/data/node.go b/internal/data/node.go
index abcb75d11..e700e9e66 100644
--- a/internal/data/node.go
+++ b/internal/data/node.go
@@ -468,9 +468,7 @@ func OSAttrsToGenericAttributes(attributeType reflect.Type, attributeValuePtr *r
 	attrs = make(map[GenericAttributeType]json.RawMessage)
 
 	// Iterate over the fields of the struct
-	for i := 0; i < attributeType.NumField(); i++ {
-		field := attributeType.Field(i)
-
+	for field := range attributeType.Fields() {
 		// Get the field value using reflection
 		fieldValue := attributeValue.FieldByName(field.Name)
 
diff --git a/internal/fs/priv_windows_test.go b/internal/fs/priv_windows_test.go
index 0db7144e8..504cc678f 100644
--- a/internal/fs/priv_windows_test.go
+++ b/internal/fs/priv_windows_test.go
@@ -25,11 +25,9 @@ func TestRestorePrivilegeBypassACL(t *testing.T) {
 	testPath := testGetRestrictedFilePath(t)
 
 	// Writable OpenFile needs explicit FILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS.
-	// Go with issue #73676 merged would allow: os.OpenFile(testPath, os.O_WRONLY|windows.O_FILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS, 0)
-	utf16Path := windows.StringToUTF16Ptr(testPath)
-	handle, err := windows.CreateFile(utf16Path, windows.GENERIC_WRITE, 0, nil, windows.OPEN_EXISTING, windows.FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL|windows.FILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS, 0)
+	testfile, err := os.OpenFile(testPath, os.O_WRONLY|windows.O_FILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS, 0)
 	test.OK(t, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to open file for writing: %s", testPath))
-	test.OK(t, windows.Close(handle))
+	test.OK(t, testfile.Close())
 }
 
 func testGetRestrictedFilePath(t *testing.T) string {