Jackson End of Life (EOL) Dates & Support Timeline
Complete end-of-life dates, support windows, and security status for all Jackson versions. Data sourced from endoflife.date and official vendor documentation. Updated at every deploy.
Running an EOL version? Get matched with support options — free ↓| Version | Latest Release | Release Date | EOL Date | Days | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.18 LTS | 2.18.9 | Sep 27, 2024 | TBD | Supported | Active |
| 2.19 | 2.19.4 | Apr 24, 2025 | Oct 30, 2025 | 296 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.20 | 2.20.2 | Aug 28, 2025 | Jan 19, 2026 | 215 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.21 LTS | 2.21.5 | Jan 18, 2026 | Jan 31, 2028 | 527 days remaining | Active |
| 3.0 | 3.0.4 | Oct 3, 2025 | Feb 23, 2026 | 180 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.1 LTS | 3.1.4 | Feb 23, 2026 | TBD | Supported | Active |
| 3.2 | 3.2.2 | Jun 8, 2026 | TBD | Supported | Active |
Live EOL badge for your README — updates automatically at every build.
[](https://endoflife.ai/jackson)
Jackson lifecycle status — the real story
Jackson is the most widely deployed JSON library on the JVM, and its lifecycle runs on two parallel tracks: the 2.x line (com.fasterxml.jackson) that most production systems still use, and the 3.x line (tools.jackson) launched in October 2025 as the actively developed future. Migrating between them is a real project — the Maven coordinates, package names, and default behaviors all changed.
Jackson designates specific branches as Long-Term Support: as of mid-2026 the open LTS branches are 2.18, 2.21, and 3.1, each maintained for a minimum of two years. Non-LTS branches close fast — 2.19 and 2.20 were each retired within roughly six months of release, and 3.0 closed in February 2026 when 3.1 shipped. Teams that pin a non-LTS Jackson version are typically running unpatched within a year.
The ancient 1.x line (org.codehaus.jackson) has been unsupported for over a decade with no release mechanism left, yet it still appears in legacy enterprise applications and transitive dependency trees — finding it in a scan is a reliable signal of deeper technical debt.
What does Jackson end of life mean for your organization?
When a version of Jackson 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 Jackson 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 Jackson 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 Jackson versions. This is a bridge, not a permanent solution — plan your migration in parallel.
Jackson has 3 versions past end of life — security patches have stopped, but CVE disclosures haven't. The good news: extended support for Jackson exists — vetted vendors ship security patches for years past the official date. Right now that coverage spans Jackson 2.x. Tell us where to reach you and we'll reply with matched options and pricing guidance — or an honest "no vendor covers this."