IBM WebSphere Application Server End of Life (EOL) Dates & Support Timeline
Complete end-of-life dates, support windows, and security status for all IBM WebSphere Application Server versions. Data sourced from endoflife.date and official vendor documentation. Updated at every deploy.
IBM WebSphere Application Server 9.0 (9.0.5) is supported, with no end-of-life or end-of-support date announced yet. 3 of 5 tracked IBM WebSphere Application Server versions are past end of life; the most recent to reach it, 8.0, did so on April 30, 2018. The full IBM WebSphere Application Server 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | — | Jun 30, 2006 | Sep 30, 2013 | Sep 30, 2016 Extended support (ended) |
4758 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.0 | 7.0.0.45 | Oct 17, 2008 | Apr 30, 2018 | Apr 30, 2021 Extended support (ended) |
3085 days past EOL | EOL |
| 8.0 | 8.0.0.15 | Jul 22, 2011 | Apr 30, 2018 | Apr 30, 2021 Extended support (ended) |
3085 days past EOL | EOL |
| 8.5 (8.5.5) | 8.5.5.31 | Jul 13, 2012 | TBD | — | Supported | Active |
| 9.0 (9.0.5) | 9.0.5.29 | Jun 24, 2016 | TBD | — | Supported | Active |
Live EOL badge for your README — updates automatically at every build.
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IBM WebSphere Application Server lifecycle status — the real story
IBM WebSphere Application Server traditional is IBM's Java EE application server. IBM dates each version line in its product lifecycle list: version 6.1 reached end of support on September 30, 2013 (extended support ended September 30, 2016), and 7.0 and 8.0 both reached it on April 30, 2018 (extended support ended April 30, 2021). Versions 8.5 and 9.0 have no end-of-support date. IBM's support note on WebSphere says: "There is no planned end-of-support date for WebSphere 8.5.5 and 9.0.5. IBM intends to support these WebSphere releases beyond Oracle's stated extended support date for Java 8."
Inside 8.5 and 9.0, IBM supports the 8.5.5 and 9.0.5 fix pack streams. Under the WebSphere Application Server traditional lifecycle policy, an interim fix "is applicable to one or more sequential Fix Pack levels that have been generally available for no more than two years", and fix packs "older than five years present significant challenges for support". So a server can be on a supported version and still be too far behind on fix packs to get a fix. IBM publishes the fix pack schedule and each fix pack's end of interim-fix eligibility on its Recommended updates page.
CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (2026.10.08) lists one WebSphere entry: CVE-2015-7450, a Java deserialization code-injection flaw filed as "WebSphere Application Server and Server Hypervisor Edition", added January 10, 2022.
Field mapping: eol is IBM's "Transition to Extended/Sustained, End of Support" date and extendedSupport is "Completion of Extended, Sustained, Extension availability", both as IBM prints them for the distributed product (PID 5724-J08). WebSphere Liberty is a separate component under its own policy: it ships as one continuous code stream (26.0.0.x) with no version end-of-support dates, so it is not covered by these cycles.
IBM WebSphere Application Server release and support pattern
Across the 5 release lines with a published release date, IBM WebSphere Application Server has shipped a new line roughly every 2.5 years (median interval). A line typically stays in standard support for about 7.3 years from its release to its standard-support end date (measured on the 3 lines with both dates published).
Of the 5 release lines tracked, 3 are past end of life and 2 are still within support. The newest line, 9.0, was released June 24, 2016. No end-of-life date is currently published for the 2 supported lines. Upstream also publishes an extended-support phase for 3 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.
IBM WebSphere Application Server security intelligence
CISA KEV history: IBM WebSphere Application Server is named in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog 1 time, most recently on 2022-01-10. Derived from CISA's live catalog at every build.
What does IBM WebSphere Application Server end of life mean for your organization?
When a version of IBM WebSphere Application Server 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 IBM WebSphere Application Server 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 IBM WebSphere Application Server 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 IBM WebSphere Application Server versions. This is a bridge, not a permanent solution — plan your migration in parallel.
IBM WebSphere Application Server has 3 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 IBM WebSphere Application Server 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."