Linux Kernel 5.10 and 5.15 End of Life: December 2026 Longterm Dates
Two Linux longterm kernel branches reach their projected end of life in December 2026: 5.10 and 5.15. kernel.org publishes the month, not a day; we serve the last day of that month, December 31, 2026, as the date. After it, the stable team stops publishing fixes for the branch. The branches to move to are 6.12 and 6.18, both projected to December 31, 2028.
Every longterm branch on kernel.org
| Branch | kernel.org projection | Date we serve |
|---|---|---|
| 6.18 | December 2028 | December 31, 2028 |
| 6.12 | December 2028 | December 31, 2028 |
| 6.6 | December 2027 | December 31, 2027 |
| 6.1 | December 2027 | December 31, 2027 |
| 5.15 | December 2026 | December 31, 2026 |
| 5.10 | December 2026 | December 31, 2026 |
kernel.org states the month only and says plainly that these dates are projected and not set in stone: a new longterm kernel usually starts with a two-year projection, which is extended when enough of the industry commits to helping maintain it. A projection can move later. Plan on the published month and check again before you rely on an extension.
Who the kernel.org date applies to, and who it does not
The kernel.org date is the one that matters when there is no distribution standing behind the kernel:
- Custom and self-built kernels on servers, build farms and container hosts that track an upstream longterm branch directly.
- Embedded devices and appliances whose firmware was built on a longterm branch. The device keeps running; whether the vendor keeps rebasing onto a supported branch is the question to ask them.
- Vendor device kernels derived from a longterm branch, where the vendor depends on upstream stable releases for its security fixes.
- Distribution releases that are themselves out of support. Once the distribution stops, nobody is backporting into that kernel package either.
What to do before December
- Find every kernel you build or ship yourself. Inventory tools report a version string; what matters is who publishes the fixes for it. Separate distribution kernels from upstream-tracked ones.
- For upstream-tracked 5.10 and 5.15 systems, plan the move to 6.12 or 6.18 now. A kernel rebase on an embedded product is a test cycle measured in months, not an afternoon.
- For devices and appliances you buy, ask the vendor which kernel branch the current firmware is built on and what their plan is after December 31, 2026. It is a fair question for a procurement or security review.
- For distribution kernels, check the distribution release date, not this one: RHEL, Ubuntu, Debian, SLES.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do Linux kernels 5.10 and 5.15 reach end of life?
kernel.org projects end of life for both the 5.10 and the 5.15 longterm branches in December 2026. kernel.org publishes the month, not a day, and calls the date projected: it can be extended if there is enough industry interest in maintaining the branch.
Does the kernel.org end-of-life date apply to my RHEL, Ubuntu or Debian kernel?
No. Distributions maintain their own kernel packages and backport fixes into them, so a distribution kernel is supported for as long as the distribution release is, regardless of the kernel.org date for the version number it started from. The kernel.org date applies to anyone running an upstream longterm kernel directly: custom builds, embedded devices, appliances and many vendor device kernels.
Which Linux longterm kernel should I move to?
The two newest longterm branches on kernel.org are 6.12 and 6.18, both projected to December 2028. The 6.1 and 6.6 branches are projected to December 2027.
Related
- Linux kernel — every branch, live status and EOL Risk Score
- RHEL minor versions — the other place a kernel quietly stops getting fixes
- Exploited & Unpatchable — CISA KEV entries on end-of-life software
- How we verify our dates