Cisco IOS XR 7.8 End of Life: Security Fixes End November 30, 2026
Cisco IOS XR 7.8 gets its last security fixes on November 30, 2026. Its last bug fixes, delivered through the 7.8.2 Extended Maintenance Release, ended on November 30, 2025 (a year earlier for routers still on the 7.8.1 feature release), and support under a service contract runs to May 31, 2027. All three dates are from Cisco's end-of-life bulletin for IOS XR Software Release 7.8. IOS XR runs carrier and data centre routers, the kind of device that sits at the edge of a network for years without a software change, so the date that matters is the security one.
Cisco's milestones for IOS XR 7.8, in plain words
| Milestone in the bulletin | Date | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| End of Extended SW Maintenance Releases | November 30, 2025 | The last date Cisco Engineering may release maintenance releases or bug fixes for 7.8. It applies to the Extended Maintenance Release, 7.8.2. After it, Cisco addresses only vulnerability and security issues in 7.8 |
| End of Vulnerability/Security Support | November 30, 2026 | The last date Cisco Engineering may release fixes for security issues in 7.8. Later security fixes come only through later supported releases, and the bulletin says there will be no further rebuilds of 7.8 |
| Last Date of Support | May 31, 2027 | The last date to receive service and support under an active contract. After it the release is obsolete |
The bulletin also lists an earlier End of SW Maintenance Releases milestone, a year before the extended one. Cisco's IOS XR lifecycle statement names 7.8.1 the feature release and 7.8.2 the Extended Maintenance Release, so the earlier milestone is the end of fixes for 7.8.1: a router still on 7.8.1 has to move to 7.8.2 to get the later fixes. The bulletin's end-of-sale date does not change the security date above.
IOS XR releases and where they stand
| Release | Bug fixes end (last maintenance release) | Security fixes end | Last date of support |
|---|---|---|---|
| IOS XR 25.2 | June 18, 2028 | June 18, 2029 | December 31, 2029 |
| IOS XR 25.1 | March 31, 2028 | March 31, 2029 | September 30, 2029 |
| IOS XR 24.4 | December 18, 2027 | December 18, 2028 | June 30, 2029 |
| IOS XR 24.3 | September 3, 2027 | September 3, 2028 | March 31, 2029 |
| IOS XR 24.2 | June 15, 2027 | June 15, 2028 | December 31, 2028 |
| IOS XR 24.1 | March 16, 2027 | March 16, 2028 | September 30, 2028 |
| IOS XR 7.11 | December 9, 2026 | December 9, 2027 | June 30, 2028 |
| IOS XR 7.10 | August 16, 2026 | August 16, 2027 | February 28, 2028 |
| IOS XR 7.9 | March 28, 2026 | March 28, 2027 | September 30, 2027 |
| IOS XR 7.8 | November 30, 2025 | November 30, 2026 | May 31, 2027 |
Each row comes from that release's own Cisco bulletin, linked from its page here. Release 25.3's bulletin is on its page; 25.4 and later have no end-of-life bulletin yet. Cisco's notice listing for IOS XR has the full set.
The pattern across the table: security fixes end a year after a release's last bug-fix maintenance does, and contract support ends about six months after that, with no fixes of any kind in between. The bug-fix column is the date for each release's Extended Maintenance Release; routers still on a release's first build, the X.Y.1 feature release, lose bug fixes a year earlier.
What to do
- On 7.8: plan the move to a release whose security date is years out, not months. Moving to 7.9 buys only until March 28, 2027.
- Check the hardware first. Which XR releases a router can run depends on the platform and line cards. Confirm the target release in Cisco's compatibility documentation for your exact hardware before setting a date.
- On anything older than 7.8: check its own bulletin. Several earlier releases are already past their security date.
- Until the upgrade: review which discovery, multicast and management services are reachable from outside the trusted network. The exploited XR flaws on CISA's list include ones in the discovery protocol, in multicast routing and in an exposed service port.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Cisco IOS XR 7.8 end of life?
Cisco's bulletin for IOS XR 7.8 sets the End of Vulnerability/Security Support at November 30, 2026: the last date Cisco Engineering may release fixes for security issues in 7.8. The Last Date of Support under a service contract is May 31, 2027, after which the release is obsolete.
Is IOS XR 7.8 still getting bug fixes?
No. The last bug fixes for IOS XR 7.8 came through its Extended Maintenance Release, 7.8.2, whose maintenance ended on November 30, 2025; the 7.8.1 feature release stopped getting them a year earlier. Since then Cisco addresses only vulnerability and security issues in 7.8, and that ends on November 30, 2026.
What happens to IOS XR 7.8 after November 30, 2026?
Cisco's bulletin says fixes for security issues found after that date may be provided only through later supported software releases, and that there will be no further rebuilds of 7.8. A service contract still gets help from Cisco's assistance centre until May 31, 2027, but not a fix for 7.8 itself.
Related
- Cisco IOS XR — every release, live status and EOL Risk Score
- Cisco IOS XE end of life
- Cisco ISE 3.1 and 3.2 end of life
- End-of-support edge devices