diff --git a/src/duckdb/extension/core_functions/scalar/math/numeric.cpp b/src/duckdb/extension/core_functions/scalar/math/numeric.cpp
index 799d4cb35..24261bdf8 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/extension/core_functions/scalar/math/numeric.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/extension/core_functions/scalar/math/numeric.cpp
@@ -1605,6 +1605,9 @@ namespace {
 struct FactorialOperator {
 	template <class TA, class TR>
 	static inline TR Operation(TA left) {
+		if (left < 0) {
+			throw OutOfRangeException("factorial of a negative number is undefined");
+		}
 		TR ret = 1;
 		for (TA i = 2; i <= left; i++) {
 			if (!TryMultiplyOperator::Operation(ret, TR(i), ret)) {
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/common/allocator/allocator_jemalloc.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/common/allocator/allocator_jemalloc.cpp
index b795fa85b..5a5a5b50f 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/common/allocator/allocator_jemalloc.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/common/allocator/allocator_jemalloc.cpp
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ bool Allocator::SupportsFlush() {
 void Allocator::ThreadFlush(bool allocator_background_threads, idx_t threshold, idx_t thread_count) {
 	if (!allocator_background_threads) {
 		// We flush after exceeding the threshold
-		if (GetJemallocCTL<uint64_t>("thread.peak.read") > threshold) {
+		if (GetJemallocCTL<uint64_t>("thread.peak.read") <= threshold) {
 			return;
 		}
 
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/function/scalar/list/list_zip.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/function/scalar/list/list_zip.cpp
index 2f83b61d6..7401e378f 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/function/scalar/list/list_zip.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/function/scalar/list/list_zip.cpp
@@ -112,7 +112,11 @@ static void ListZipFunction(DataChunk &args, ExpressionState &state, Vector &res
 		offset += len;
 	}
 	for (idx_t child_idx = 0; child_idx < args_size; child_idx++) {
-		if (args.data[child_idx].GetType() != LogicalType::SQLNULL) {
+		if (args.data[child_idx].GetType() == LogicalType::SQLNULL ||
+		    ListVector::GetListSize(args.data[child_idx]) == 0) {
+			struct_entries[child_idx]->SetVectorType(VectorType::CONSTANT_VECTOR);
+			ConstantVector::SetNull(*struct_entries[child_idx], true);
+		} else {
 			struct_entries[child_idx]->Slice(ListVector::GetEntry(args.data[child_idx]), selections[child_idx],
 			                                 result_size);
 		}
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/function/table/version/pragma_version.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/function/table/version/pragma_version.cpp
index 88fe2bbc9..673c6a642 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/function/table/version/pragma_version.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/function/table/version/pragma_version.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #ifndef DUCKDB_PATCH_VERSION
-#define DUCKDB_PATCH_VERSION "3-dev373"
+#define DUCKDB_PATCH_VERSION "3"
 #endif
 #ifndef DUCKDB_MINOR_VERSION
 #define DUCKDB_MINOR_VERSION 5
@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@
 #define DUCKDB_MAJOR_VERSION 1
 #endif
 #ifndef DUCKDB_VERSION
-#define DUCKDB_VERSION "v1.5.3-dev373"
+#define DUCKDB_VERSION "v1.5.3"
 #endif
 #ifndef DUCKDB_SOURCE_ID
-#define DUCKDB_SOURCE_ID "f1a6e65815"
+#define DUCKDB_SOURCE_ID "14eca11bd9"
 #endif
 #include "duckdb/function/table/system_functions.hpp"
 #include "duckdb/main/database.hpp"
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/main/extension_entries.hpp b/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/main/extension_entries.hpp
index 5b6397e49..d96910f1e 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/main/extension_entries.hpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/main/extension_entries.hpp
@@ -236,6 +236,7 @@ static constexpr ExtensionFunctionEntry EXTENSION_FUNCTIONS[] = {
     {"iceberg_metadata", "iceberg", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"iceberg_partition_stats", "iceberg", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"iceberg_scan", "iceberg", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
+    {"iceberg_schema_properties", "iceberg", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"iceberg_snapshots", "iceberg", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"iceberg_table_properties", "iceberg", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"iceberg_to_ducklake", "iceberg", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
@@ -571,6 +572,7 @@ static constexpr ExtensionFunctionEntry EXTENSION_FUNCTIONS[] = {
     {"regr_sxx", "core_functions", CatalogType::AGGREGATE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"regr_sxy", "core_functions", CatalogType::AGGREGATE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"regr_syy", "core_functions", CatalogType::AGGREGATE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
+    {"remove_iceberg_schema_properties", "iceberg", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"remove_iceberg_table_properties", "iceberg", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"repeat", "core_functions", CatalogType::SCALAR_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"replace", "core_functions", CatalogType::SCALAR_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
@@ -587,6 +589,7 @@ static constexpr ExtensionFunctionEntry EXTENSION_FUNCTIONS[] = {
     {"rtrim", "core_functions", CatalogType::SCALAR_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"sem", "core_functions", CatalogType::AGGREGATE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"set_bit", "core_functions", CatalogType::SCALAR_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
+    {"set_iceberg_schema_properties", "iceberg", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"set_iceberg_table_properties", "iceberg", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"setseed", "core_functions", CatalogType::SCALAR_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
     {"shapefile_meta", "spatial", CatalogType::TABLE_FUNCTION_ENTRY},
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/data_table.hpp b/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/data_table.hpp
index e9b899091..ed5de9902 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/data_table.hpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/data_table.hpp
@@ -255,6 +255,12 @@ class DataTable : public enable_shared_from_this<DataTable> {
 
 	shared_ptr<DataTableInfo> &GetDataTableInfo();
 
+	//! Direct access to the row group collection. Intended for extensions that need to walk storage internals;
+	//! prefer the higher-level DataTable API for normal use.
+	const shared_ptr<RowGroupCollection> &GetRowGroupCollection() const {
+		return row_groups;
+	}
+
 	void BindIndexes(ClientContext &context);
 	bool HasIndexes() const;
 	bool HasUniqueIndexes() const;
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/row_group.hpp b/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/row_group.hpp
index b6c7f73df..70fcf1ed9 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/row_group.hpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/row_group.hpp
@@ -215,6 +215,10 @@ class RowGroup : public SegmentBase<RowGroup> {
 
 	vector<MetaBlockPointer> CheckpointDeletes(RowGroupWriter &writer);
 
+	//! Direct accessors, fall outside of general use but can be useful to some extensions
+	ColumnData &GetRawColumnData(const StorageIndex &c) const;
+	ColumnData &GetRawColumnData(storage_t c) const;
+
 private:
 	optional_ptr<RowVersionManager> GetVersionInfo();
 	optional_ptr<RowVersionManager> GetVersionInfoIfLoaded() const;
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/row_group_collection.hpp b/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/row_group_collection.hpp
index 676e36bf8..aebd74042 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/row_group_collection.hpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/row_group_collection.hpp
@@ -163,11 +163,13 @@ class RowGroupCollection {
 	//! Returns the total amount of segments - use sparingly, as this forces all segments to be loaded
 	idx_t GetSegmentCount();
 
+	//! Get a ptr to the raw segment tree. This can be useful for some extensions to have directly exposed.
+	shared_ptr<RowGroupSegmentTree> GetRowGroups() const;
+
 private:
 	optional_ptr<SegmentNode<RowGroup>> NextUpdateRowGroup(RowGroupSegmentTree &row_groups, row_t *ids, idx_t &pos,
 	                                                       idx_t count) const;
 
-	shared_ptr<RowGroupSegmentTree> GetRowGroups() const;
 	void SetRowGroups(shared_ptr<RowGroupSegmentTree> row_groups);
 
 private:
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/standard_column_data.hpp b/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/standard_column_data.hpp
index 7249aaf08..f24a0981e 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/standard_column_data.hpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/include/duckdb/storage/table/standard_column_data.hpp
@@ -69,6 +69,8 @@ class StandardColumnData : public ColumnData {
 	void Verify(RowGroup &parent) override;
 
 	void SetValidityData(shared_ptr<ValidityColumnData> validity);
+	//! Direct access to the validity column data. Intended for extensions that need to walk storage internals.
+	ValidityColumnData &GetValidityData();
 
 protected:
 	//! The validity column data
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/main/connection_manager.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/main/connection_manager.cpp
index f97d373aa..4035d018d 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/main/connection_manager.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/main/connection_manager.cpp
@@ -38,17 +38,16 @@ void ConnectionManager::AssignConnectionId(Connection &connection) {
 vector<shared_ptr<ClientContext>> ConnectionManager::GetConnectionList() {
 	lock_guard<mutex> lock(connections_lock);
 	vector<shared_ptr<ClientContext>> result;
-	for (auto &it : connections) {
-		auto connection = it.second.lock();
+	for (auto it = connections.begin(); it != connections.end();) {
+		auto connection = it->second.lock();
 		if (!connection) {
-			connections.erase(it.first);
-			connection_count = connections.size();
-			continue;
+			it = connections.erase(it);
 		} else {
 			result.push_back(std::move(connection));
+			++it;
 		}
 	}
-
+	connection_count = connections.size();
 	return result;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/main/database_manager.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/main/database_manager.cpp
index e4b1da3e2..839ad33c9 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/main/database_manager.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/main/database_manager.cpp
@@ -147,14 +147,13 @@ shared_ptr<AttachedDatabase> DatabaseManager::AttachDatabase(ClientContext &cont
 
 	if (requires_tracking_attaches) {
 		// Start timing the ATTACH-delay step.
-		auto profiler = context.client_data->profiler->StartTimer(MetricType::WAITING_TO_ATTACH_LATENCY);
-
+		auto timer = context.client_data->profiler->StartTimer(MetricType::WAITING_TO_ATTACH_LATENCY);
+		// Start trying to attach.
 		while (InsertDatabasePath(info, options) == InsertDatabasePathResult::ALREADY_EXISTS) {
 			// database with this name and path already exists
 			// first check if it exists within this transaction
 			auto &meta_transaction = MetaTransaction::Get(context);
-			auto existing_db = meta_transaction.GetReferencedDatabaseOwning(info.name);
-			if (existing_db) {
+			if (auto existing_db = meta_transaction.GetReferencedDatabaseOwning(info.name)) {
 				// it does! return it
 				return existing_db;
 			}
@@ -171,6 +170,8 @@ shared_ptr<AttachedDatabase> DatabaseManager::AttachDatabase(ClientContext &cont
 				throw InterruptException();
 			}
 		}
+		// Returning in the loop above will also end the timer, otherwise, do it explicitly here.
+		timer.EndTimer();
 	}
 	auto &config = DBConfig::GetConfig(context);
 	GetDatabaseType(context, info, config, options);
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/optimizer/row_group_pruner.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/optimizer/row_group_pruner.cpp
index 362e50730..32daada8a 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/optimizer/row_group_pruner.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/optimizer/row_group_pruner.cpp
@@ -90,10 +90,9 @@ bool RowGroupPruner::TryOptimize(LogicalOperator &op) const {
 
 void RowGroupPruner::GetLimitAndOffset(const LogicalLimit &logical_limit, optional_idx &row_limit,
                                        optional_idx &row_offset) const {
+	// UNSET = no LIMIT = unbounded; leave row_limit invalid.
 	if (logical_limit.limit_val.Type() == LimitNodeType::CONSTANT_VALUE) {
 		row_limit = logical_limit.limit_val.GetConstantValue();
-	} else if (logical_limit.limit_val.Type() == LimitNodeType::UNSET) {
-		row_limit = 0;
 	}
 
 	if (logical_limit.offset_val.Type() == LimitNodeType::CONSTANT_VALUE) {
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/storage/data_table.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/storage/data_table.cpp
index a0dac4701..40e1b7859 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/storage/data_table.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/storage/data_table.cpp
@@ -1821,12 +1821,13 @@ void DataTable::Checkpoint(TableDataWriter &writer, Serializer &serializer) {
 	row_groups->Checkpoint(writer, global_stats);
 	row_groups->SetRowGroupAppendMode(RowGroupAppendMode::SUGGEST_NEW);
 	if (writer.GetRebuildIndexes()) {
-		ActiveTimer rebuild_indexes_timer;
+		ActiveTimer timer;
 		auto context = writer.TryGetClientContext();
 		if (context) {
-			rebuild_indexes_timer = QueryProfiler::Get(*context).StartTimer(MetricType::CUMULATIVE_VACUUM_TIME);
+			timer = QueryProfiler::Get(*context).StartTimer(MetricType::CUMULATIVE_VACUUM_TIME);
 		}
 		RebuildIndexes();
+		timer.EndTimer();
 	}
 	// The row group payload data has been written. Now write:
 	//   sample
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/storage/storage_manager.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/storage/storage_manager.cpp
index 6ea32cb90..d9c1c5bbc 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/storage/storage_manager.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/storage/storage_manager.cpp
@@ -502,9 +502,8 @@ void SingleFileStorageManager::LoadDatabase(QueryContext context) {
 		auto checkpoint_reader = SingleFileCheckpointReader(*this);
 		checkpoint_reader.LoadFromStorage();
 
-		// End timing the storage load step.
+		// Reset the timer (also ends it).
 		if (timer) {
-			timer->EndTimer();
 			timer = nullptr;
 		}
 
@@ -518,10 +517,7 @@ void SingleFileStorageManager::LoadDatabase(QueryContext context) {
 		wal_path = GetWALPath();
 		wal = WriteAheadLog::Replay(context, *this, wal_path);
 
-		// End timing the WAL replay step.
-		if (timer) {
-			timer->EndTimer();
-		}
+		// Timer will go out of scope here, if set.
 	}
 
 	if (row_group_size > 122880ULL && GetStorageVersion() < 4) {
@@ -697,14 +693,15 @@ void SingleFileStorageManager::CreateCheckpoint(QueryContext context, Checkpoint
 		try {
 			// Start timing the checkpoint.
 			auto client_context = context.GetClientContext();
-			ActiveTimer profiler;
+			ActiveTimer timer;
 			if (client_context) {
-				profiler = client_context->client_data->profiler->StartTimer(MetricType::CHECKPOINT_LATENCY);
+				timer = client_context->client_data->profiler->StartTimer(MetricType::CHECKPOINT_LATENCY);
 			}
 
 			// Write the checkpoint.
 			auto checkpointer = CreateCheckpointWriter(context, options);
 			checkpointer->CreateCheckpoint();
+			timer.EndTimer();
 
 		} catch (std::exception &ex) {
 			ErrorData error(ex);
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/row_group.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/row_group.cpp
index 724c17f4c..9af7d20ee 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/row_group.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/row_group.cpp
@@ -133,6 +133,14 @@ ColumnData &RowGroup::GetColumn(storage_t c) const {
 	return c == COLUMN_IDENTIFIER_ROW_ID ? *row_id_column_data : *columns[c];
 }
 
+ColumnData &RowGroup::GetRawColumnData(const StorageIndex &c) const {
+	return GetColumn(c);
+}
+
+ColumnData &RowGroup::GetRawColumnData(storage_t c) const {
+	return GetColumn(c);
+}
+
 void RowGroup::LoadColumn(storage_t c) const {
 	if (c == COLUMN_IDENTIFIER_ROW_ID) {
 		LoadRowIdColumnData();
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/row_group_collection.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/row_group_collection.cpp
index 7a4ea0b31..99d06f048 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/row_group_collection.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/row_group_collection.cpp
@@ -1200,14 +1200,16 @@ class VacuumTask : public BaseCheckpointTask {
 	}
 
 	void ExecuteTask() override {
-		ActiveTimer vacuum_task_timer;
+		ActiveTimer timer;
 		auto context = checkpoint_state.writer.TryGetClientContext();
 		if (context) {
-			vacuum_task_timer = QueryProfiler::Get(*context).StartTimer(MetricType::CUMULATIVE_VACUUM_TIME);
+			timer = QueryProfiler::Get(*context).StartTimer(MetricType::CUMULATIVE_VACUUM_TIME);
 		}
+
 		auto &collection = checkpoint_state.collection;
 		const idx_t row_group_size = collection.GetRowGroupSize();
 		auto &types = collection.GetTypes();
+
 		// create the new set of target row groups (initially empty)
 		vector<unique_ptr<RowGroup>> new_row_groups;
 		vector<idx_t> append_counts;
@@ -1218,7 +1220,6 @@ class VacuumTask : public BaseCheckpointTask {
 			new_row_group->InitializeEmpty(types, ColumnDataType::MAIN_TABLE);
 			new_row_groups.push_back(std::move(new_row_group));
 			append_counts.push_back(0);
-
 			row_group_rows -= current_row_group_rows;
 		}
 
@@ -1301,7 +1302,10 @@ class VacuumTask : public BaseCheckpointTask {
 			    "Mismatch in row group count %d vs verify count %d in RowGroupCollection::Checkpoint", merge_rows,
 			    total_append_count);
 		}
-		vacuum_task_timer.EndTimer();
+
+		// Explicitly end the timer for the vacuum tasks here.
+		timer.EndTimer();
+
 		// merging is complete - execute checkpoint tasks of the target row groups
 		for (idx_t i = 0; i < target_count; i++) {
 			auto checkpoint_task = collection.GetCheckpointTask(checkpoint_state, segment_idx + i);
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/standard_column_data.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/standard_column_data.cpp
index 7e43eaae8..9728e5b71 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/standard_column_data.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/storage/table/standard_column_data.cpp
@@ -215,6 +215,11 @@ void StandardColumnData::SetValidityData(shared_ptr<ValidityColumnData> validity
 	this->validity = std::move(validity_p);
 }
 
+ValidityColumnData &StandardColumnData::GetValidityData() {
+	D_ASSERT(validity);
+	return *validity;
+}
+
 struct StandardColumnCheckpointState : public ColumnCheckpointState {
 	StandardColumnCheckpointState(const RowGroup &row_group, ColumnData &column_data,
 	                              PartialBlockManager &partial_block_manager)
diff --git a/src/duckdb/src/transaction/duck_transaction.cpp b/src/duckdb/src/transaction/duck_transaction.cpp
index 15c44fa72..70a8d09c8 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/src/transaction/duck_transaction.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/src/transaction/duck_transaction.cpp
@@ -221,9 +221,9 @@ ErrorData DuckTransaction::WriteToWAL(ClientContext &context, AttachedDatabase &
 		commit_state = storage_manager.GenStorageCommitState(*wal);
 
 		auto &profiler = *context.client_data->profiler;
-
 		auto commit_timer = profiler.StartTimer(MetricType::COMMIT_LOCAL_STORAGE_LATENCY);
 		storage->Commit(commit_state.get());
+		commit_timer.EndTimer();
 
 		auto wal_timer = profiler.StartTimer(MetricType::WRITE_TO_WAL_LATENCY);
 		undo_buffer.WriteToWAL(*wal, commit_state.get());
@@ -233,6 +233,8 @@ ErrorData DuckTransaction::WriteToWAL(ClientContext &context, AttachedDatabase &
 			// hence we need to ensure those optimistically written blocks are persisted
 			storage_manager.GetBlockManager().FileSync();
 		}
+		wal_timer.EndTimer();
+
 	} catch (std::exception &ex) {
 		// Call RevertCommit() outside this try-catch as it itself may throw
 		error_data = ErrorData(ex);
diff --git a/src/duckdb/ub_extension_icu_third_party_icu_i18n.cpp b/src/duckdb/ub_extension_icu_third_party_icu_i18n.cpp
index 1dda62f9f..f77cc507f 100644
--- a/src/duckdb/ub_extension_icu_third_party_icu_i18n.cpp
+++ b/src/duckdb/ub_extension_icu_third_party_icu_i18n.cpp
@@ -348,17 +348,17 @@
 
 #include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/wintzimpl.cpp"
 
+#include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-string-to-double.cpp"
+
 #include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-cached-powers.cpp"
 
-#include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-string-to-double.cpp"
+#include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-fast-dtoa.cpp"
 
-#include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-double-to-string.cpp"
+#include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-bignum.cpp"
 
-#include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-bignum-dtoa.cpp"
+#include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-double-to-string.cpp"
 
 #include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-strtod.cpp"
 
-#include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-bignum.cpp"
-
-#include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-fast-dtoa.cpp"
+#include "extension/icu/third_party/icu/i18n/double-conversion-bignum-dtoa.cpp"