Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into v5

# Conflicts:
#	gradle.properties

Author: devondragon

README.md

@@ -132,13 +132,13 @@ Spring Boot 4.0 brings significant changes including Spring Security 7 and requi
 <dependency>
     <groupId>com.digitalsanctuary</groupId>
     <artifactId>ds-spring-user-framework</artifactId>
-    <version>4.3.2</version>
+    <version>4.4.0</version>
 </dependency>
 ```
 
 **Gradle:**
 ```groovy
-implementation 'com.digitalsanctuary:ds-spring-user-framework:4.3.2'
+implementation 'com.digitalsanctuary:ds-spring-user-framework:4.4.0'
 ```
 
 #### Spring Boot 4.0 Key Changes
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ Follow these steps to get up and running with the Spring User Framework in your
 
    **Spring Boot 4.0 (Java 21+):**
    ```groovy
-   implementation 'com.digitalsanctuary:ds-spring-user-framework:4.3.2'
+   implementation 'com.digitalsanctuary:ds-spring-user-framework:4.4.0'
    ```
 
    **Spring Boot 3.5 (Java 17+):**