Debian End of Life Dates: Debian 10, 11, 12, and 13 Support Timelines

Last updated: May 27, 2026  ·  Covers Debian 10 (Buster) through Debian 13 (Trixie)

Debian uses a layered support model — regular security support, Long Term Support (LTS), and Extended Long Term Support (ELTS) — giving each release up to 7+ years of coverage if you use all layers. This guide explains each Debian release's codename, release date, end of regular support, LTS end date, and ELTS end date, and tells you which version you should be running right now.

Debian Release EOL Dates — Full Table

Understanding Debian's Three Support Tiers

Tier 1: Regular Security Support (~3 years)

This is the standard Debian security support provided by the Debian Security Team. Covers the full main archive with timely security patches. This is the primary support window and what most users and production systems rely on. It runs from the release date until the next stable release ships and the current release transitions to "oldstable" — typically about 2 years — plus a brief overlap. Effective total coverage is approximately 3 years.

Tier 2: Long Term Support / LTS (~2 additional years)

After the Security Team ends support, Debian LTS takes over for approximately 2 more years. LTS is maintained by a separate team of volunteers and corporate sponsors (Freexian and others). LTS covers a subset of packages — typically all packages in the main archive that are actively used — but may not cover every package the Security Team handled. Free to use, no subscription required.

Tier 3: Extended LTS / ELTS (~2 additional years)

ELTS is a commercial offering managed by Freexian that extends support for an additional ~2 years beyond LTS. ELTS covers only the most popular packages (a defined subset) and requires a paid subscription for access to the patches. It is designed for organizations with strict compliance requirements that cannot complete migrations quickly.

Debian 13 (Trixie) — Current Stable

Debian 13, codenamed Trixie, was released on August 9, 2025, becoming the new stable release. Upon Trixie's release, Debian 12 (Bookworm) transitioned to "oldstable" but continues to receive security support for approximately 1 more year, and then LTS support. Trixie's full regular security support window runs approximately through August 2028.

Notable in Debian 13: updated GCC, LLVM, Python, and Rust toolchains; improved ARM64 and RISC-V support; updated kernel based on Linux 6.x; improved installer; and a fully updated package set.

Debian 12 (Bookworm) — Oldstable, Active Security Support

Debian 12, codenamed Bookworm, was released June 10, 2023. It is currently in its "oldstable" phase following Trixie's release (August 9, 2025), but remains actively supported by the Debian Security Team until approximately August 2026 (roughly 1 year after the new stable release). Bookworm shipped with Linux kernel 6.1, GNOME 43, KDE Plasma 5.27, Python 3.11, PHP 8.2, PostgreSQL 15, and MariaDB 10.11. LTS support extends to approximately June 2028.

How long is Debian 12 supported?

Debian 12 (Bookworm) receives approximately:

• Regular support: ~3 years — from June 2023 to approximately August 2026
• LTS support: +2 years — approximately August 2026 to June 2028
• ELTS support: +2 more years — approximately June 2028 to June 2030 (commercial)
• Total: up to ~7 years of coverage

Debian 11 (Bullseye) — In LTS

Debian 11, codenamed Bullseye, was released August 14, 2021. Regular security support ended August 31, 2024. It is currently in LTS support, which runs until August 31, 2026. ELTS support (commercial) continues until June 30, 2028. Bullseye shipped with Linux 5.10 LTS, Python 3.9, PHP 7.4, MariaDB 10.5, and PostgreSQL 13.

Debian 10 (Buster) — Fully End of Life

Debian 10, codenamed Buster, was released July 6, 2019. Regular support ended August 2022, LTS ended June 30, 2024, and ELTS ended June 30, 2026. Debian 10 is now fully end of life through all support tiers. Any system running Buster is completely unpatched. Migrate immediately to Debian 12 or 13.

Debian 9 (Stretch) and Debian 8 (Jessie) — End of Life

Debian 9 (Stretch) reached end of all support (including ELTS) in June 2025. Debian 8 (Jessie) likewise ended ELTS in June 2025. Both are fully unsupported with no patches available through any channel.

Debian Release Naming Convention

Debian codenames are all characters from the Toy Story film series. They are assigned in alphabetical order. Recent and upcoming releases:

How to Check Your Debian Version

cat /etc/debian_version
# Output: 12.x (Bookworm) or 11.x (Bullseye)

lsb_release -a
# Shows distributor, codename, and release

Upgrading Debian

Upgrading Debian 11 (Bullseye) to Debian 12 (Bookworm)

# Update all current packages first
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y && sudo apt full-upgrade -y

# Update sources.list to Bookworm
sudo sed -i 's/bullseye/bookworm/g' /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo sed -i 's/bullseye/bookworm/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*.list

# Run the upgrade
sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade -y

# Reboot
sudo reboot

Upgrading Debian 12 (Bookworm) to Debian 13 (Trixie)

Follow the same process, replacing bookworm with trixie in your sources. Always read the official Debian release notes for the specific version pair before upgrading — they document known issues and required manual steps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Resources

• Debian version data on endoflife.ai
• RHEL End of Life Guide
• Ubuntu version data on endoflife.ai
• Node.js End of Life Guide