VMware ESXi End of Life (EOL) Dates & Support Timeline
Complete end-of-life dates, support windows, and security status for all VMware ESXi versions. Data sourced from endoflife.date and official vendor documentation. Updated at every deploy.
| Version | Latest Release | Release Date | EOL Date | Days | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | 5.0 Update 3g | Jul 12, 2011 | Aug 24, 2016 | 3590 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.1 | 5.1 Update 3d | Aug 27, 2012 | Aug 24, 2016 | 3590 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.5 | 5.5 Update 3k | Sep 19, 2013 | Sep 19, 2018 | 2834 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.0 | 6.0 EP 25 | Mar 12, 2015 | Mar 12, 2020 | 2294 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.5 | 6.5 ESXi650-202403001 | Nov 15, 2016 | Oct 15, 2022 | 1347 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.7 | 6.7 Update 3w | Apr 17, 2018 | Oct 15, 2022 | 1347 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.0 | 7.0 Update 3w | Apr 2, 2020 | Oct 2, 2025 | 264 days past EOL | EOL |
| 8.0 | 8.0 Update 3j | Oct 11, 2022 | Oct 11, 2027 | 475 days remaining | Active |
| 9.0 | 9.0.2.0 | Jun 17, 2025 | Sep 17, 2027 | 451 days remaining | Active |
| 9.1 | 9.1.0.0 | May 12, 2026 | Aug 12, 2028 | 781 days remaining | Active |
What does VMware ESXi end of life mean for your organization?
When a version of VMware ESXi 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: Most vulnerability scanners check for known CVEs but do not flag the accumulation of unpatched vulnerabilities in EOL software. With a zero-day, nobody knows about the vulnerability. With EOL software, the vulnerability is public — listed, rated, and often weaponized — but no patch will ever exist. This is the most dangerous gap in enterprise security posture.
Organizations running EOL VMware ESXi 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.
Extended Support Options
If you cannot migrate immediately, extended support vendors provide continued security patches for EOL VMware ESXi versions. This is a bridge, not a permanent solution — plan your migration in parallel.
We work with vetted extended support vendors. Tell us what you need and we'll connect you with the right provider.
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