diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 9b2eb1a7..5cefb6a7 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -26,32 +26,32 @@ RUN curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_0.12 | bash - && \
     npm install -g bower
 
 # for Apache Spark demos
-ENV APACHE_SPARK_VERSION 3.4.4
+ENV APACHE_SPARK_VERSION 3.5.7
 ARG SCALA_VERSION=2.12
 
 RUN apt-get -y update && \
     apt-get -y install software-properties-common
 
-RUN \
-    echo "===> add webupd8 repository..."  && \
-    echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/java/ubuntu trusty main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-java.list  && \
-    echo "deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/java/ubuntu trusty main" | tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-java.list  && \
-    apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys EEA14886  && \
-    apt-get update
-
-RUN echo "===> install Java"  && \
-    echo debconf shared/accepted-oracle-license-v1-1 select true | debconf-set-selections  && \
-    echo debconf shared/accepted-oracle-license-v1-1 seen true | debconf-set-selections  && \
-    DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive  apt-get install -y --force-yes oracle-java8-installer oracle-java8-set-default && \
-    apt-get clean && \
-    update-java-alternatives -s java-8-oracle
-
-RUN cd /tmp && \
-    if [ "$SCALA_VERSION" = "2.13" ]; then APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME=hadoop3-scala2.13; else APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME=hadoop3; fi && \
-    wget -q https://archive.apache.org/dist/spark/spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}/spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}-bin-${APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME}.tgz && \
-    tar xzf spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}-bin-${APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME}.tgz -C /usr/local && \
-    rm spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}-bin-${APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME}.tgz && \
-    ln -snf /usr/local/spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}-bin-${APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME} /usr/local/spark
+RUN JAVA_8=`update-alternatives --list java | grep java-1.8.0-openjdk` || echo $JAVA_8 && \
+    if [ "x$JAVA_8" = "x" ]; then \
+        apt-get -y update ; \
+        apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends openjdk-8-jdk ca-certificates-java ; \
+        apt-get clean ; \
+        rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* ; \
+        update-ca-certificates -f ; \
+        JAVA_8=`update-java-alternatives --list | grep java-1.8.0-openjdk | awk '{print $NF}'` ; \
+        update-java-alternatives --set $JAVA_8 ; \
+    fi
+
+RUN if [ "$SCALA_VERSION" = "2.13" ]; then APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME=hadoop3-scala2.13; else APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME=hadoop3; fi && \
+    SPARK_TGZ_NAME=spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}-bin-${APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME} && \
+    if [ ! -d "/usr/local/$SPARK_TGZ_NAME" ]; then \
+        cd /tmp ; \
+        wget -q https://www.apache.org/dyn/closer.lua/spark/spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}/${SPARK_TGZ_NAME}.tgz?action=download -O ${SPARK_TGZ_NAME}.tgz ; \
+        tar -xzf ${SPARK_TGZ_NAME}.tgz -C /usr/local ; \
+        rm ${SPARK_TGZ_NAME}.tgz ; \
+        ln -snf /usr/local/$SPARK_TGZ_NAME /usr/local/spark ; \
+    fi
 
 # R support
 RUN apt-get update && \
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && \
     rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 ENV SPARK_HOME /usr/local/spark
-ENV PYTHONPATH $SPARK_HOME/python:$SPARK_HOME/python/lib/py4j-0.10.9.5-src.zip
+ENV PYTHONPATH $SPARK_HOME/python:$SPARK_HOME/python/lib/py4j-0.10.9.7-src.zip
 ENV PYSPARK_PYTHON /home/main/anaconda2/envs/python3/bin/python
 ENV R_LIBS_USER $SPARK_HOME/R/lib
 
diff --git a/Dockerfile.toree-dev b/Dockerfile.toree-dev
index 731b9c83..f3447fd1 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.toree-dev
+++ b/Dockerfile.toree-dev
@@ -23,24 +23,30 @@ FROM jupyter/all-spark-notebook
 USER root
 
 # Spark dependencies
-ARG APACHE_SPARK_VERSION=3.4.4
+ARG APACHE_SPARK_VERSION=3.5.7
 ARG SCALA_VERSION=2.12
 
-RUN apt-get -y update && \
-    apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends openjdk-8-jdk ca-certificates-java  && \
-    apt-get clean && \
-    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* && \
-    update-ca-certificates -f && \
-    JAVA_8=`update-alternatives --list java | grep java-8-openjdk` && \
-    update-alternatives --set java $JAVA_8
+RUN JAVA_8=`update-alternatives --list java | grep java-1.8.0-openjdk` || echo $JAVA_8 && \
+    if [ "x$JAVA_8" = "x" ]; then \
+        apt-get -y update ; \
+        apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends openjdk-8-jdk ca-certificates-java ; \
+        apt-get clean ; \
+        rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* ; \
+        update-ca-certificates -f ; \
+        JAVA_8=`update-java-alternatives --list | grep java-1.8.0-openjdk | awk '{print $NF}'` ; \
+        update-java-alternatives --set $JAVA_8 ; \
+    fi
 
 # Installing Spark3
-RUN cd /tmp && \
-    if [ "$SCALA_VERSION" = "2.13" ]; then APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME=hadoop3-scala2.13; else APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME=hadoop3; fi && \
-    wget -q https://archive.apache.org/dist/spark/spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}/spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}-bin-${APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME}.tgz && \
-    tar xzf spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}-bin-${APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME}.tgz -C /usr/local && \
-    rm spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}-bin-${APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME}.tgz && \
-    ln -snf /usr/local/spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}-bin-${APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME} /usr/local/spark
+RUN if [ "$SCALA_VERSION" = "2.13" ]; then APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME=hadoop3-scala2.13; else APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME=hadoop3; fi && \
+    SPARK_TGZ_NAME=spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}-bin-${APACHE_SPARK_CUSTOM_NAME} && \
+    if [ ! -d "/usr/local/$SPARK_TGZ_NAME" ]; then \
+        cd /tmp ; \
+        wget -q https://www.apache.org/dyn/closer.lua/spark/spark-${APACHE_SPARK_VERSION}/${SPARK_TGZ_NAME}.tgz?action=download -O ${SPARK_TGZ_NAME}.tgz ; \
+        tar -xzf ${SPARK_TGZ_NAME}.tgz -C /usr/local ; \
+        rm ${SPARK_TGZ_NAME}.tgz ; \
+        ln -snf /usr/local/$SPARK_TGZ_NAME /usr/local/spark ; \
+    fi
 
 # Remove other scala kernels
 RUN cd /opt/conda/share/jupyter/kernels/ && \
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a2bc3117..a7d20429 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ IS_SNAPSHOT?=true
 SNAPSHOT:=-SNAPSHOT
 endif
 
-APACHE_SPARK_VERSION?=3.4.4
+APACHE_SPARK_VERSION?=3.5.7
 SCALA_VERSION?=2.12
 IMAGE?=jupyter/all-spark-notebook:latest
 EXAMPLE_IMAGE?=apache/toree-examples
diff --git a/build.sbt b/build.sbt
index 3fb4030b..ab981c8f 100644
--- a/build.sbt
+++ b/build.sbt
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 import scala.util.Properties
 import sbtassembly.AssemblyOption
 
-lazy val scala212 = "2.12.17"
+lazy val scala212 = "2.12.18"
 lazy val scala213 = "2.13.8"
 lazy val defaultScalaVersion = sys.env.get("SCALA_VERSION") match {
   case Some("2.13") => scala213
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ ThisBuild / crossScalaVersions := Seq(scala212, scala213)
 ThisBuild / scalaVersion := defaultScalaVersion
 ThisBuild / Dependencies.sparkVersion := {
   val envVar = "APACHE_SPARK_VERSION"
-  val defaultVersion = "3.4.4"
+  val defaultVersion = "3.5.7"
 
   Properties.envOrNone(envVar) match {
     case None =>
diff --git a/etc/kernel.json b/etc/kernel.json
index 868215ac..98808659 100644
--- a/etc/kernel.json
+++ b/etc/kernel.json
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   },
   "display_name": "Apache Toree (development)",
   "env": {
-    "PYTHONPATH": "/usr/local/spark/python:/usr/local/spark/python/lib/py4j-0.10.9.5-src.zip",
+    "PYTHONPATH": "/usr/local/spark/python:/usr/local/spark/python/lib/py4j-0.10.9.7-src.zip",
     "SPARK_HOME": "/usr/local/spark",
     "CAPTURE_STANDARD_ERR": "true",
     "MAX_INTERPRETER_THREADS": "16",
diff --git a/plugins/build.sbt b/plugins/build.sbt
index 88f9a494..1eaef52d 100644
--- a/plugins/build.sbt
+++ b/plugins/build.sbt
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ Test / fork := true
 // Needed for type inspection
 libraryDependencies ++= Seq(
   Dependencies.scalaReflect.value,
+  Dependencies.asm,
+  Dependencies.asmCommons,
+  Dependencies.asmUtil,
   Dependencies.clapper,
   Dependencies.slf4jApi
 )
diff --git a/plugins/src/main/scala/org/apache/toree/plugins/PluginSearcher.scala b/plugins/src/main/scala/org/apache/toree/plugins/PluginSearcher.scala
index 75fa6f92..5e2a661e 100644
--- a/plugins/src/main/scala/org/apache/toree/plugins/PluginSearcher.scala
+++ b/plugins/src/main/scala/org/apache/toree/plugins/PluginSearcher.scala
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@
 package org.apache.toree.plugins
 
 import java.io.File
-import org.clapper.classutil.{ClassInfo, ClassFinder}
+import org.clapper.classutil.{ClassFinder, ClassInfo}
+import org.objectweb.asm.Opcodes
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory
 
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
@@ -52,7 +53,7 @@ class PluginSearcher {
    *
    * @return The new class finder
    */
-  protected def newClassFinder(): ClassFinder = ClassFinder(classpath)
+  protected def newClassFinder(): ClassFinder = ClassFinder(classpath, Some(Opcodes.ASM9))
 
   /**
    * Creates a new class finder for the given paths.
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ class PluginSearcher {
    *
    * @return The new class finder
    */
-  protected def newClassFinder(paths: Seq[File]): ClassFinder = ClassFinder(paths)
+  protected def newClassFinder(paths: Seq[File]): ClassFinder = ClassFinder(paths, Some(Opcodes.ASM9))
 
   /**
    * Loads all class information using the provided class finder.
diff --git a/project/Dependencies.scala b/project/Dependencies.scala
index 08d7bf86..3db4af81 100644
--- a/project/Dependencies.scala
+++ b/project/Dependencies.scala
@@ -26,20 +26,24 @@ object Dependencies {
   val pekkoSlf4j = "org.apache.pekko" %% "pekko-slf4j" % pekkoVersion // Apache v2
   val pekkoTestkit = "org.apache.pekko" %% "pekko-testkit" % pekkoVersion // Apache v2
 
-  val clapper = "org.clapper" %% "classutil" % "1.5.1" // BSD 3-clause license, used for detecting plugins
+  val asmVersion = "9.9"
+  val asm = "org.ow2.asm" % "asm" % asmVersion // Apache v2
+  val asmCommons = "org.ow2.asm" % "asm-commons" % asmVersion // Apache v2
+  val asmUtil = "org.ow2.asm" % "asm-util" % asmVersion // Apache v2
+  val clapper = "org.clapper" %% "classutil" % "1.5.1" // Apache v2, used for detecting plugins
 
   val commonsExec = "org.apache.commons" % "commons-exec" % "1.3" // Apache v2
 
   val config = "com.typesafe" % "config" % "1.4.3" // Apache v2
 
-  val coursierVersion = "2.0.0"
+  val coursierVersion = "2.0.16"
   val coursier = "io.get-coursier" %% "coursier" % coursierVersion // Apache v2
   val coursierCache = "io.get-coursier" %% "coursier-cache" % coursierVersion // Apache v2
 
   val ivy = "org.apache.ivy" % "ivy" % "2.5.1" // Apache v2
 
-  // use the same jackson version in test than the one provided at runtime by Spark 3.4.x
-  val jacksonDatabind = "com.fasterxml.jackson.core" % "jackson-databind" % "2.14.2" // Apache v2
+  // use the same jackson version in test than the one provided at runtime by Spark 3.5.x
+  val jacksonDatabind = "com.fasterxml.jackson.core" % "jackson-databind" % "2.15.2" // Apache v2
 
   val jeroMq = "org.zeromq" % "jeromq" % "0.5.3" // MPL v2
 
@@ -57,7 +61,7 @@ object Dependencies {
   val scalaTestMockito = "org.scalatestplus" %% "mockito-4-11" % "3.2.16.0" // Apache v2
   val mockitoInline = "org.mockito" % "mockito-inline" % "4.11.0" // MIT
 
-  val slf4jApi = "org.slf4j" % "slf4j-api" % "2.0.6" // MIT
+  val slf4jApi = "org.slf4j" % "slf4j-api" % "2.0.7" // MIT
 
   val sparkVersion = settingKey[String]("Version of Apache Spark to use in Toree") // defined in root build
   val sparkCore = Def.setting{ "org.apache.spark" %% "spark-core" % sparkVersion.value } // Apache v2