Azure Kubernetes Service End of Life (EOL) Dates & Support Timeline
Complete end-of-life dates, support windows, and security status for all Azure Kubernetes Service versions. Data sourced from endoflife.date and official vendor documentation. Updated at every deploy.
Azure Kubernetes Service 1.36 is supported until June 30, 2027, its end-of-support date. The next Azure Kubernetes Service version to reach end of life is 1.34, on November 30, 2026. 13 of 16 tracked Azure Kubernetes Service versions are past end of life; the most recent to reach it, 1.33, did so on July 31, 2026. The full Azure Kubernetes Service lifecycle, with every version's release and end-of-support date, is in the table below.
Running an EOL version? Get matched with support options — free ↓| Version | Latest Release | Release Date | EOL Date | Extended Support | Days | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.21 | — | Aug 18, 2021 | Jul 31, 2022 | — | 1515 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.22 | — | Jan 10, 2022 | Dec 4, 2022 | — | 1389 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.23 | — | Apr 26, 2022 | Apr 2, 2023 | — | 1270 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.24 | — | Aug 17, 2022 | Jul 31, 2023 | — | 1150 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.25 | — | Dec 14, 2022 | Jan 14, 2024 | — | 983 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.26 | — | Apr 18, 2023 | Apr 11, 2024 | — | 895 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.27 | — | Aug 16, 2023 | Jul 31, 2024 | Jul 31, 2025 AKS Long Term Support (ended) |
784 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.28 | — | Nov 7, 2023 | Jan 31, 2025 | Feb 28, 2026 AKS Long Term Support (ended) |
600 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.29 | — | Mar 18, 2024 | Mar 31, 2025 | Apr 30, 2026 AKS Long Term Support (ended) |
541 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.30 | — | Aug 5, 2024 | Aug 22, 2025 | Jul 31, 2026 AKS Long Term Support (ended) |
397 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.31 | — | Oct 25, 2024 | Nov 1, 2025 | Nov 30, 2026 AKS Long Term Support |
326 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.32 | — | Apr 6, 2025 | Mar 31, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 AKS Long Term Support |
176 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.33 | — | Jun 17, 2025 | Jul 31, 2026 | Jul 31, 2027 AKS Long Term Support |
54 days past EOL | EOL |
| 1.34 | — | Jan 4, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 | Nov 30, 2027 AKS Long Term Support |
68 days remaining | Warning |
| 1.35 | — | Mar 5, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | Mar 31, 2028 AKS Long Term Support |
189 days remaining | Active |
| 1.36 | — | Jun 30, 2026 | Jun 30, 2027 | Jun 30, 2028 AKS Long Term Support |
280 days remaining | Active |
Live EOL badge for your README — updates automatically at every build.
[](https://endoflife.ai/azure-kubernetes-service)
Azure Kubernetes Service release and support pattern
Across the 16 release lines with a published release date, Azure Kubernetes Service has shipped a new line roughly every 4 months (median interval). A line typically stays in standard support for about 1 year from its release to its standard-support end date.
Of the 16 release lines tracked, 13 are past end of life and 3 are still within support. The newest line, 1.36, was released June 30, 2026. The next scheduled end of life is 1.34 on November 30, 2026 — 67 days from this build. The longest-supported line currently published is 1.36, to June 30, 2027. Upstream also publishes an extended-support phase for 10 lines, shown in the table above.
Computed from the tracked release data at every build — the figures above are the dates in the table, restated, not an editorial estimate.
What does Azure Kubernetes Service end of life mean for your organization?
When a version of Azure Kubernetes Service reaches end of life, the maintainers stop issuing security patches. Vulnerabilities discovered after this date are publicly disclosed on the National Vulnerability Database, exploit code appears on GitHub, and your systems remain permanently exposed.
The CVE blind spot: A CVE-based scan does not show the accumulation of unpatched vulnerabilities in EOL software. Some scanners flag unsupported versions of common products, but coverage varies, and none of them give you the date in advance. With a zero-day, nobody knows about the vulnerability. With EOL software, the vulnerability is public — listed, rated, and often weaponized — but no vendor patch is coming. This is one of the most dangerous gaps in enterprise security posture.
Organizations running EOL Azure Kubernetes Service should treat it as a vulnerability class in their risk register, apply compensating controls (network segmentation, enhanced monitoring, access restriction), and prioritize migration to a supported version.
Your options when Azure Kubernetes Service reaches end of life
There are four realistic paths. Which one is right depends far more on how long the system needs to keep running than on the version you are on today.
| Option | Best when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Move to a supported version | The system will outlive the current version's support window and you can schedule the work | Budget for compatibility testing, not just the upgrade itself — that is where the real cost sits |
| Replace the component | The project is unmaintained, or a better-supported alternative exists | The replacement has its own lifecycle and its own end-of-life date — you are changing vendors, not escaping the problem |
| Buy extended support | Migration is genuinely underway but cannot finish before the deadline, or the workload is frozen by certification or a third-party application | A bridge, not a destination — every year purchased is a year the migration still has to happen |
| Document accepted risk | The system is isolated, short-lived, or scheduled for retirement | Only defensible with real compensating controls and a written decision — auditors treat undocumented end-of-life software as a finding |
How to choose, in one question: how many more years does this system need to run? Under a year, extended support (where it exists) is usually cheaper than an emergency migration. One to three years, migrate — support purchased repeatedly costs more than doing the project once, and the project only gets harder as the version ages. Indefinitely, migrate now and plan the next migration before it surprises you.
Worth saying plainly, because vendors selling extended support rarely will: extended support is often the more expensive choice over a multi-year horizon. It is the right answer when a deadline is genuinely unreachable, not as a default. Compare the annual fee against the one-time cost of migrating before committing to either.
Formalizing decisions like this across your estate? Our free EOL policy template is a ready-to-adopt policy with risk tiers, remediation SLAs, and audit mapping — no signup, free to use and share.
Extended Support Options
If you cannot migrate immediately, extended support vendors provide continued security patches for EOL Azure Kubernetes Service versions. This is a bridge, not a permanent solution — plan your migration in parallel.
Azure Kubernetes Service has 13 versions past end of life — security patches have stopped, but CVE disclosures haven't. Extended support past the official date exists for many products in this position — whether it exists for Azure Kubernetes Service is exactly what we check. Tell us where to reach you and we'll reply with matched options and pricing guidance — or an honest "no vendor covers this."