FreeBSD 14.4 End of Life: December 31, 2026, and Why FreeBSD 14 Continues
FreeBSD 14.4-RELEASE has an expected end of life of December 31, 2026, but FreeBSD 14 does not end then. The FreeBSD Project's supported releases table dates each security branch and each stable branch separately. releng/14.4, the security branch for 14.4-RELEASE (released March 10, 2026), ends on December 31, 2026. stable/14, the FreeBSD 14 branch as a whole, has an expected end of life of November 30, 2028, and 14.5-RELEASE has June 30, 2027. Live status and EOL Risk Score are on the FreeBSD 14.4 page; every branch and release is on the FreeBSD page.
Key Dates at a Glance
- FreeBSD 14.5: end of life 2027-06-30
- FreeBSD 15.1: end of life 2027-03-31
- FreeBSD 14.4: end of life 2026-12-31
- FreeBSD 15: end of life 2029-12-31
- FreeBSD 14: end of life 2028-11-30
The FreeBSD table
These rows come from the FreeBSD Security Officer's table of supported releases. FreeBSD heads the date column "Expected EoL".
| Branch | Release | Release date | Expected EoL |
|---|---|---|---|
| stable/15 | n/a | n/a | December 31, 2029 |
| releng/15.1 | 15.1-RELEASE | June 16, 2026 | March 31, 2027 |
| stable/14 | n/a | n/a | November 30, 2028 |
| releng/14.5 | 14.5-RELEASE | September 8, 2026 | June 30, 2027 |
| releng/14.4 | 14.4-RELEASE | March 10, 2026 | December 31, 2026 |
Why 14.4 ends and 14 does not
FreeBSD's support model, on the same page: each minor release is only supported for three months after the next minor release within the same major version, or, for the final minor release, until support for the major version's stable branch ends. Support for the stable branch of FreeBSD 14 ends on November 30, 2028, and from FreeBSD 15 onward each stable branch is supported for four years from its dot-zero release.
The same page says the FreeBSD Security Officer provides security advisories for the -STABLE branches and for each release's security branch. Security branch builds are named like 14.4-RELEASE-p4 (releng/14.4); stable branch builds like 14.4-STABLE (stable/14). 14.4 ending means advisories stop covering releng/14.4, not that FreeBSD 14 stops.
What to do
- Check the release:
freebsd-versionshows the running release and patch level. - On 14.4-RELEASE: upgrade to 14.5-RELEASE before December 31, 2026 to stay on a supported security branch in the same major version.
- Planning ahead: FreeBSD 14 as a whole is supported until November 30, 2028; FreeBSD 15's stable branch until December 31, 2029.
- Check other releases: the FreeBSD page re-reads the Project's table, and the EOL Checker answers for a single release.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is FreeBSD 14.4 end of life?
The FreeBSD Project's supported releases table gives FreeBSD 14.4-RELEASE (releng/14.4) an expected end of life of December 31, 2026. After that, FreeBSD security advisories no longer cover the 14.4 security branch; FreeBSD 14 itself continues on 14.5 and the stable/14 branch.
When does FreeBSD 14 reach end of life?
The FreeBSD 14 stable branch, stable/14, has an expected end of life of November 30, 2028. FreeBSD's support model says support for the stable branch of FreeBSD 14 ends on that date.
Which FreeBSD release should 14.4 systems move to?
FreeBSD 14.5-RELEASE, released September 8, 2026, is supported until June 30, 2027 in the same major version. FreeBSD 15.1-RELEASE is supported until March 31, 2027, and the stable/15 branch until December 31, 2029.
Related
- FreeBSD — every branch and release and its dates
- OpenLDAP 2.5 end of life — another open source date at the turn of the year