diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 96712f6b0..869e606d1 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -53,8 +53,12 @@ T_GREEN := \e[0;32m
 T_YELLOW := \e[0;33m
 T_RESET := \e[0m
 
-.PHONY: latest
-latest: 1.28 ## Build EKS Optimized AL2 AMI with the latest supported version of Kubernetes
+# default to the latest supported Kubernetes version
+k8s=1.28
+
+.PHONY: build
+build: ## Build EKS Optimized AL2 AMI
+	$(MAKE) k8s $(shell hack/latest-binaries.sh $(k8s))
 
 # ensure that these flags are equivalent to the rules in the .editorconfig
 SHFMT_FLAGS := --list \
@@ -109,31 +113,29 @@ k8s: validate ## Build default K8s version of EKS Optimized AL2 AMI
 	@echo "$(T_GREEN)Building AMI for version $(T_YELLOW)$(kubernetes_version)$(T_GREEN) on $(T_YELLOW)$(arch)$(T_RESET)"
 	$(PACKER_BINARY) build -timestamp-ui -color=false $(PACKER_VAR_FLAGS) $(PACKER_TEMPLATE_FILE)
 
-# Build dates and versions taken from https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/install-kubectl.html
-
 .PHONY: 1.23
 1.23: ## Build EKS Optimized AL2 AMI - K8s 1.23
-	$(MAKE) k8s kubernetes_version=1.23.17 kubernetes_build_date=2023-09-14
+	$(MAKE) k8s $(shell hack/latest-binaries.sh 1.23)
 
 .PHONY: 1.24
 1.24: ## Build EKS Optimized AL2 AMI - K8s 1.24
-	$(MAKE) k8s kubernetes_version=1.24.17 kubernetes_build_date=2023-09-14
+	$(MAKE) k8s $(shell hack/latest-binaries.sh 1.24)
 
 .PHONY: 1.25
 1.25: ## Build EKS Optimized AL2 AMI - K8s 1.25
-	$(MAKE) k8s kubernetes_version=1.25.13 kubernetes_build_date=2023-09-14
+	$(MAKE) k8s $(shell hack/latest-binaries.sh 1.25)
 
 .PHONY: 1.26
 1.26: ## Build EKS Optimized AL2 AMI - K8s 1.26
-	$(MAKE) k8s kubernetes_version=1.26.8 kubernetes_build_date=2023-09-14
+	$(MAKE) k8s $(shell hack/latest-binaries.sh 1.26)
 
 .PHONY: 1.27
 1.27: ## Build EKS Optimized AL2 AMI - K8s 1.27
-	$(MAKE) k8s kubernetes_version=1.27.5 kubernetes_build_date=2023-09-14
+	$(MAKE) k8s $(shell hack/latest-binaries.sh 1.27)
 
 .PHONY: 1.28
 1.28: ## Build EKS Optimized AL2 AMI - K8s 1.28
-	$(MAKE) k8s kubernetes_version=1.28.1 kubernetes_build_date=2023-09-14
+	$(MAKE) k8s $(shell hack/latest-binaries.sh 1.28)
 
 .PHONY: lint-docs
 lint-docs: ## Lint the docs
diff --git a/doc/USER_GUIDE.md b/doc/USER_GUIDE.md
index 9f90bd7ec..a46d58df2 100644
--- a/doc/USER_GUIDE.md
+++ b/doc/USER_GUIDE.md
@@ -66,50 +66,68 @@ Users have the following options for specifying their own values:
 
 ---
 
-## Building against other versions of Kubernetes binaries
-To build an Amazon EKS Worker AMI with other versions of Kubernetes that are not listed above run the following AWS Command
-Line Interface (AWS CLI) commands to obtain values for KUBERNETES_VERSION, KUBERNETES_BUILD_DATE, PLATFORM, ARCH from S3
+## Choosing Kubernetes binaries
+
+When building the AMI, binaries such as `kubelet`, `aws-iam-authenticator`, and `ecr-credential-provider` are installed.
+
+### Using the latest binaries
+
+It is recommended that the latest available binaries are used, as they may contain important fixes for bugs or security issues.
+The latest binaries can be discovered with the following script:
+```bash
+hack/latest-binaries.sh $KUBERNETES_MINOR_VERSION
+```
+This script will return the values for the binary-related AMI template variables, for example:
+```bash
+> hack/latest-binaries.sh 1.28
+
+kubernetes_version=1.28.1 kubernetes_build_date=2023-10-01
+```
+
+### Using a specific version of the binaries
+
+Use the following commands to obtain values for the binary-related AMI template variables:
 ```bash
-#List of all avalable Kuberenets Versions:
-aws s3 ls s3://amazon-eks 
-KUBERNETES_VERSION=1.23.9 # Chose a version and set the variable
+# List Kubernetes versions
+aws s3 ls s3://amazon-eks
+
+# List build dates
+aws s3 ls s3://amazon-eks/1.23.9/
 
-#List of all builds for the specified Kubernetes Version:
-aws s3 ls s3://amazon-eks/$KUBERNETES_VERSION/
-KUBERNETES_BUILD_DATE=2022-07-27 # Chose a date and set the variable
+# List platforms
+aws s3 ls s3://amazon-eks/1.23.9/2022-07-27/bin/
 
-#List of all platforms available for the selected Kubernetes Version and build date
-aws s3 ls s3://amazon-eks/$KUBERNETES_VERSION/$KUBERNETES_BUILD_DATE/bin/
-PLATFORM=linux # Chose a platform and set the variable
+# List architectures
+aws s3 ls s3://amazon-eks/1.23.9/2022-07-27/bin/linux/
 
-#List of all architectures for the selected Kubernetes Version, build date and platform
-aws s3 ls s3://amazon-eks/$KUBERNETES_VERSION/$KUBERNETES_BUILD_DATE/bin/linux/
-ARCH=x86_64 #Chose an architecture and set the variable
+# List binaries
+aws s3 ls s3://amazon-eks/1.23.9/2022-07-27/bin/linux/x86_64/
 ```
-Run the following command to build an Amazon EKS Worker AMI based on the chosen parameters in the previous step
+
+To build using the example binaries above:
 ```bash
 make k8s \
-  kubernetes_version=$KUBERNETES_VERSION \
-  kubernetes_build_date=$KUBERNETES_BUILD_DATE \
-  arch=$ARCH
+  kubernetes_version=1.23.9 \
+  kubernetes_build_date=2022-07-27 \
+  arch=x86_64
 ```
 
----
+### Providing your own binaries
 
-## Providing your own Kubernetes Binaries
+By default, binaries are downloaded from the public S3 bucket `amazon-eks` in `us-west-2`.
+You can instead provide your own version of Kubernetes binaries.
 
-By default, binaries are downloaded from the Amazon EKS public Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3)
-bucket amazon-eks in us-west-2. You can instead choose to provide your own version of Kubernetes binaries to be used. To use your own binaries
+To use your own binaries:
 
-1. Copy the binaries to your own S3 bucket using the AWS CLI. Here is an example that uses Kubelet binary
+1. Copy all of the necessary binaries to your own S3 bucket using the AWS CLI. For example:
 ```bash
- aws s3 cp kubelet s3://my-custom-bucket/kubernetes_version/kubernetes_build_date/bin/linux/arch/kubelet
+ aws s3 cp kubelet s3://$BUCKET/$KUBERNETES_VERSION/$KUBERNETES_BUILD_DATE/bin/linux/$ARCH/kubelet
 ```
-**Note**: Replace my-custom-bucket, amazon-eks, kubernetes_version, kubernetes_build_date, and arch with your values.
 
-**Important**: You must provide all the binaries listed in the default amazon-eks bucket for a specific kubernetes_version, kubernetes_build_date, and arch combination. These binaries must be accessible through AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) credentials configured in the Install and configure HashiCorp Packer section.
+**Important**: You must provide all the binaries present in the default `amazon-eks` bucket for a specific `KUBERNETES_VERSION`, `KUBERNETES_BUILD_DATE`, and `ARCH` combination.
+These binaries must be accessible using the credentials on the Packer builder EC2 instance.
 
-2. Run the following command to start the build process to use your own Kubernetes binaries
+2. Run the following command to start the build process to use your own Kubernetes binaries:
 ```bash
 make k8s \
   binary_bucket_name=my-custom-bucket \
@@ -119,14 +137,6 @@ make k8s \
 ```
 **Note**: Confirm that the binary_bucket_name, binary_bucket_region, kubernetes_version, and kubernetes_build_date parameters match the path to your binaries in Amazon S3.
 
-The Makefile runs Packer with the `eks-worker-al2.json` build specification
-template and the [amazon-ebs](https://www.packer.io/docs/builders/amazon-ebs.html)
-builder. An instance is launched and the Packer [Shell
-Provisioner](https://www.packer.io/docs/provisioners/shell.html) runs the
-`install-worker.sh` script on the instance to install software and perform other
-necessary configuration tasks.  Then, Packer creates an AMI from the instance
-and terminates the instance after the AMI is created.
-
 ---
 
 ## Container Image Caching
diff --git a/hack/latest-binaries.sh b/hack/latest-binaries.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..246fc8dd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hack/latest-binaries.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -o errexit
+set -o pipefail
+set -o nounset
+
+if [ "$#" -ne 1 ]; then
+  echo "usage: $0 KUBERNETES_MINOR_VERSION"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+MINOR_VERSION="${1}"
+
+# retrieve the available "VERSION/BUILD_DATE" prefixes (e.g. "1.28.1/2023-09-14")
+# from the binary object keys, sorted in descending semver order, and pick the first one
+LATEST_BINARIES=$(aws s3api list-objects-v2 --bucket amazon-eks --prefix "${MINOR_VERSION}" --query 'Contents[*].[Key]' --output text | cut -d'/' -f-2 | sort -Vru | head -n1)
+
+if [ "${LATEST_BINARIES}" == "None" ]; then
+  echo >&2 "No binaries available for minor version: ${MINOR_VERSION}"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+LATEST_VERSION=$(echo "${LATEST_BINARIES}" | cut -d'/' -f1)
+LATEST_BUILD_DATE=$(echo "${LATEST_BINARIES}" | cut -d'/' -f2)
+
+echo "kubernetes_version=${LATEST_VERSION} kubernetes_build_date=${LATEST_BUILD_DATE}"