End-of-Life Software
Management
Software end of life isn't an event you react to — it's a schedule you manage. Every OS, runtime, framework, and database you run has a published date after which patches stop, which means EOL management can be a repeatable process instead of a recurring surprise. This page lays out that process in four stages — track, score, plan, bridge — and points to the free tool for each one.
The Four Stages at a Glance
| Stage | Question It Answers | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Track | What do we run, and when does each version lose support? | EOL Checker · Stack Scanner · API |
| 2. Score | Of everything past or near EOL, what's actually dangerous? | EOL Risk Score |
| 3. Plan | What do we migrate, in what order, by when? | Risk-ranked findings + Timeline |
| 4. Bridge | What covers the gap where migration can't finish in time? | Extended-support matching |
Stage 1 — Track the Dates
Tracking is inventory plus dates. endoflife.ai maintains lifecycle data for 480+ products, built on open data from endoflife.date, so the lookup side is solved: check a single product in the EOL Checker, turn a requirements.txt, package.json, Gemfile, or composer.json into a full lifecycle report with the Stack Scanner, or script recurring checks through the API — the free tier allows 500 requests per day. The full workflow for assembling your side of the equation is covered in building a legacy software inventory, and if you're wondering why your vulnerability scanner hasn't already done this for you, unsupported software detection explains the blind spot.
Stage 2 — Score the Risk
Tracking usually surfaces more EOL findings than you can act on at once. The EOL Risk Score converts each one into a 0–100 number from four weighted factors: EOL recency (up to 40 points — unpatched exposure compounds), attack surface (30), CISA KEV exposure (20), and extended-support availability (10). Two products that went EOL the same day can score very differently, and that difference is your priority order.
Stage 3 — Plan Migrations
With a ranked list, planning becomes sequencing: highest scores first, grouped where one migration unblocks several findings (an OS upgrade often clears multiple runtime issues at once). For each item, set a target version with meaningful support runway left — the product index shows every tracked version's dates, and the timeline shows what's expiring next so this quarter's plan accounts for next quarter's deadlines.
Stage 4 — Bridge With Extended Support
Some migrations won't finish before the risk becomes unacceptable — compliance-bound workloads, internet-facing systems, rewrites measured in quarters. For those, a market of extended-lifecycle-support providers sells continued security patches for EOL software, buying time without pretending the migration away. The extended-support market overview maps that market by category, and we'll match you with a provider suited to your stack — free, no obligation. Extended support is a bridge, not a destination: the plan from Stage 3 still runs; it just runs under patch coverage.
Start managing, not reacting
Check a product now, or get matched with extended support for anything already past EOL.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is EOL management?
The ongoing process of handling software as it approaches and passes end of life: tracking support dates for everything you run, scoring the risk of anything already unsupported, planning migrations in priority order, and bridging unavoidable gaps with extended support. It's a loop, not a one-off project — new EOL dates land every month.
Should I migrate or buy extended support?
Migrate when the work can finish before the risk becomes unacceptable. Bridge with extended support when it can't — typically for compliance-critical or internet-facing workloads where a rushed migration is riskier than a paid patch stream. Extended support buys time; it doesn't remove the eventual migration.
How do I know which EOL software to fix first?
Rank findings with the EOL Risk Score, a 0–100 benchmark built from four weighted factors: how long the version has been past EOL (40 points max), its attack surface (30), CISA KEV exposure (20), and whether extended support exists as a fallback (10). Work down from the highest score.
Can EOL management be automated?
The tracking stage can. The endoflife.ai API — free tier of 500 requests per day across 480+ products — lets you script recurring checks in CI/CD or an inventory job, and the stack scanner turns dependency files into lifecycle reports. Scoring is automatic; planning and bridging decisions stay human.