diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index 592486321703cf198018e3fe83a72c762f439fef..068e4e183ee0dc6fdd6ca5b54ed3adaec460e79b 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 Synapse 1.45.0rc1 (2021-10-12)
 ==============================
 
+**Note:** We are aware of [a performance issue](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/11049) introduced in Synapse v1.44.0, as well as [a bug](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/11025) with the user directory when using application services. While this release candidate doesn't fix either of those issues, a second release candidate is expected to come out in a few days to address them.
+
 Features
 --------