Topology Aware Lifecycle Manager Operator version 4.18 is incorrectly installed on OpenShift 4.17 or older clusters

Solution Verified - Updated

Environment

  • Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform (RHOCP)
    - < 4.18
  • Topology Aware Lifecylce Manager Operator 4.18

Issue

After a catalog update, the Topology Aware Lifecycle Manager Operator may have been upgraded to version 4.18, which is not supported on OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) versions 4.17 or older clusters.

This article covers the specific remediation for the Topology Aware Lifecycle Manager Operator. For the general issue affecting multiple operators, refer to Red Hat Operator has version higher than the cluster version.

Resolution

1. Preconditions & Safety Checks

Before initiating the removal or installation process, the following conditions must be met:

  • No Active Operations: Verify that no CGU (Cluster Group Upgrades) are currently in progress.
  • Backup Policy: Confirmed that no backup is required for TALM (Topology Aware Lifecycle Manager).

2. Clean Uninstallation (CLI Commands)

To completely remove the operator and its metadata, execute the following commands in sequence:

  1. Check the current version of the Subscription, CSV and Installplan:
$ oc get subscription -n openshift-operators
$ oc get csv -n openshift-operators
$ oc get installplan -n openshift-operators
  1. Delete IBGU:
$ oc delete imagebasedgroupupgrades.lcm.openshift.io --all -A
  1. Delete CGU:
$ oc delete clustergroupupgrades.ran.openshift.io --all -A
  1. Delete the Subscription:
$ oc delete subscription <subscription_name> -n openshift-operators
subscription.operators.coreos.com "<subscription_name>" deleted from openshift-operators namespace
  1. Delete the Cluster Service Version (CSV):
    Replace with the specific v4.18 string found in step 1.
$ oc delete csv topology-aware-lifecycle-manager.v<version> -n openshift-operators
clusterserviceversion.operators.coreos.com "topology-aware-lifecycle-manager.v<version>" deleted from openshift-operators namespace
  1. Delete Installplan:
$ oc delete installplan <installplan_name> -n openshift-operators
installplans.operators.coreos.com "<installplan_name>" deleted from openshift-operators namespace
  1. Remove Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs):
$ oc get crd | grep -E "(ran|lcm).openshift.io"
clustergroupupgrades.ran.openshift.io 2026-02-18T18:36:32Z
imagebasedgroupupgrades.lcm.openshift.io 2026-02-18T17:49:54Z
precachingconfigs.ran.openshift.io 2026-02-18T18:36:32Z


$ oc delete crd clustergroupupgrades.ran.openshift.io
$ oc delete crd imagebasedgroupupgrades.lcm.openshift.io
$ oc delete crd precachingconfigs.ran.openshift.io

3. Targeted Reinstallation

To reinstall and pin the operator to the desired version, create the Subscription manifest.
Subscription Manifest (talm-subscription.yaml)

apiVersion: operators.coreos.com/v1alpha1
kind: Subscription
metadata:
  name: topology-aware-lifecycle-manager
  namespace: openshift-operators
spec:
  channel: "stable" 
  name: topology-aware-lifecycle-manager
  source: redhat-operators
  sourceNamespace: openshift-marketplace
  installPlanApproval: Manual

Apply the Installation:

  1. Create the subscription:
$ oc apply -f talm-subscription.yaml
subscription.operators.coreos.com/topology-aware-lifecycle-manager created
  1. Approve the InstallPlan:
    Since installPlanApproval is set to Manual, you must retrieve and approve the plan:
$ oc get installplan -n openshift-operators
NAME CSV APPROVAL APPROVED
install-6kbs2 topology-aware-lifecycle-manager.v4.12.10 Manual false

$ oc patch installplan <installplan_name> -n openshift-operators --type merge --patch '{"spec":{"approved":true}}'
installplan.operators.coreos.com/install-6kbs2 patched

4. Post-Installation Validation

Verify Operator Status:

$ oc get csv -n openshift-operators | grep topology-aware-lifecycle-manager
topology-aware-lifecycle-manager.v4.12.10 Topology Aware Lifecycle Manager 4.12.10 topology-aware-lifecycle-manager.v4.12.9 Succeeded

Verify Pods: 

$ oc get pods -n openshift-operators | grep cluster-group-upgrades-controller-manager
cluster-group-upgrades-controller-manager-v2-67f98599b8-gddfg 2/2 Running 0 3m3s

Root Cause

For several hours on February 3, 2026, Red Hat released 4.18 Red Hat Operators catalog content into 4.12-4.17 clusters.

For more information, including Diagnostic Steps, please refer to Red Hat Operator has version higher than the cluster version.

Diagnostic Steps

For more information, including Diagnostic Steps, please refer to Red Hat Operator has version higher than the cluster version.

This solution is part of Red Hat’s fast-track publication program, providing a huge library of solutions that Red Hat engineers have created while supporting our customers. To give you the knowledge you need the instant it becomes available, these articles may be presented in a raw and unedited form.