diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index 346762a..ef3c6ff 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -34,6 +34,19 @@
 DO NOT REMOVE THIS MARKER; FOR INTERPOLATING CHANGES!-->
 # HBASE Changelog
 
+## Release thirdparty-4.0.1 - Unreleased (as of 2021-12-17)
+
+
+
+### SUB-TASKS:
+
+| JIRA | Summary | Priority | Component |
+|:---- |:---- | :--- |:---- |
+| [HBASE-26593](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HBASE-26593) | [hbase-thirdparty] Set version as 4.0.1 in prep for first RC |  Major | build, pom, thirdparty |
+| [HBASE-26594](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HBASE-26594) | [hbase-thirdparty] Generate CHANGES.md and RELEASENOTES.md for 4.0.1 |  Major | thirdparty |
+| [HBASE-26592](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HBASE-26592) | Fix the broken shaded protobuf module |  Blocker | hbase-thirdparty, Protobufs |
+
+
 ## Release thirdparty-4.0.0 - Unreleased (as of 2021-11-30)
 
 
diff --git a/RELEASENOTES.md b/RELEASENOTES.md
index f2fe892..1351957 100644
--- a/RELEASENOTES.md
+++ b/RELEASENOTES.md
@@ -20,6 +20,19 @@
 # Be careful doing manual edits in this file. Do not change format
 # of release header or remove the below marker. This file is generated.
 # DO NOT REMOVE THIS MARKER; FOR INTERPOLATING CHANGES!-->
+# HBASE  thirdparty-4.0.1 Release Notes
+
+These release notes cover new developer and user-facing incompatibilities, important issues, features, and major improvements.
+
+
+---
+
+* [HBASE-26592](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HBASE-26592) | *Blocker* | **Fix the broken shaded protobuf module**
+
+Remove protobuf-java dependency from hbase-shaded-protobuf module, as we will unpack its source and patch it and then recompile from source. Also add a resources section to make sure that we include the proto files in the final jar.
+
+
+
 # HBASE  thirdparty-4.0.0 Release Notes
 
 These release notes cover new developer and user-facing incompatibilities, important issues, features, and major improvements.