Bind 9 9.16 End of Life Date
Bind 9 9.16 end-of-life date, support status, and CVE risk. Data reconciled from official vendor documentation and endoflife.date at every build; the source of each date is on the product page.
Bind 9 9.16 was released on February 12, 2020 and support ended on March 31, 2024 — a supported lifespan of 4 years and 2 months, in line with the 4 years and 2 months median for Bind 9 LTS releases. It was a long-term support (LTS) release, so it received a longer patch window than the interim releases around it. The last patch it will ever receive is 9.16.50, published April 3, 2024 — 3 days after the published end-of-life date. It has been without security patches for 2 years and 6 months. 2 newer Bind 9 releases have shipped since.
Commercial vendors offer security patches beyond EOL. Compare your options.
Compare Options →| Version | Latest | EOL Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| → 9.16 LTS | 9.16.50 | Mar 31, 2024 | EOL |
| 9.18 (ESV) LTS | 9.18.50 | Jun 30, 2026 | EOL |
| 9.20 (Stable) LTS | 9.20.27 | Jul 8, 2028 | Active |
| 9.21 (Development) | 9.21.25 | EOL | Active |
What does Bind 9 9.16 end of life mean?
When Bind 9 9.16 reaches end of life, the maintainers stop issuing security patches for this version. CVEs discovered after the EOL date are publicly disclosed on the National Vulnerability Database with no patch available. Exploit code frequently appears on GitHub within days of disclosure.
The CVE blind spot: Most vulnerability scanners check for known CVEs but do not flag the ongoing accumulation of unpatched vulnerabilities in EOL software versions. Running Bind 9 9.16 past its EOL date creates a permanently growing attack surface that standard security tooling will not surface.
Migrate to Bind 9 9.21 (Development) or implement compensating controls — network segmentation, enhanced monitoring, restricted access — while migration is underway.