OpenBSD End of Life (EOL) Dates & Support Timeline
Complete end-of-life dates, support windows, and security status for all OpenBSD versions. Data from endoflife.date, checked against the vendor's own lifecycle pages where we have read them (share on /accuracy). Updated at every deploy.
OpenBSD 8.0 is supported, with no end-of-life or end-of-support date announced yet. 58 of 60 tracked OpenBSD versions are past end of life; the most recent to reach it, 7.8, did so on October 20, 2026. The full OpenBSD 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 | Days | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | — | Jun 1, 1997 | May 19, 1998 | 10399 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.2 | — | Dec 1, 1997 | Dec 1, 1998 | 10203 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.3 | — | May 19, 1998 | May 19, 1999 | 10034 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.4 | — | Dec 1, 1998 | Dec 1, 1999 | 9838 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.5 | — | May 19, 1999 | Jun 15, 2000 | 9641 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.6 | — | Dec 1, 1999 | Dec 1, 2000 | 9472 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.7 | — | Jun 15, 2000 | Jun 1, 2001 | 9290 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.8 | — | Dec 1, 2000 | Dec 1, 2001 | 9107 days past EOL | EOL |
| 2.9 | — | Jun 1, 2001 | May 19, 2002 | 8938 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.0 | — | Dec 1, 2001 | Nov 1, 2002 | 8772 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.1 | — | May 19, 2002 | May 1, 2003 | 8591 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.2 | — | Nov 1, 2002 | Nov 1, 2003 | 8407 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.3 | — | May 1, 2003 | May 1, 2004 | 8225 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.4 | — | Nov 1, 2003 | Nov 1, 2004 | 8041 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.5 | — | May 1, 2004 | May 19, 2005 | 7842 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.6 | — | Nov 1, 2004 | Nov 1, 2005 | 7676 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.7 | — | May 19, 2005 | May 1, 2006 | 7495 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.8 | — | Nov 1, 2005 | Nov 1, 2006 | 7311 days past EOL | EOL |
| 3.9 | — | May 1, 2006 | May 1, 2007 | 7130 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.0 | — | Nov 1, 2006 | Nov 1, 2007 | 6946 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.1 | — | May 1, 2007 | May 1, 2008 | 6764 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.2 | — | Nov 1, 2007 | Nov 1, 2008 | 6580 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.3 | — | May 1, 2008 | May 1, 2009 | 6399 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.4 | — | Nov 1, 2008 | Oct 18, 2009 | 6229 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.5 | — | May 1, 2009 | May 19, 2010 | 6016 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.6 | — | Oct 18, 2009 | Nov 1, 2010 | 5850 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.7 | — | May 19, 2010 | May 1, 2011 | 5669 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.8 | — | Nov 1, 2010 | Nov 1, 2011 | 5485 days past EOL | EOL |
| 4.9 | — | May 1, 2011 | May 1, 2012 | 5303 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.0 | — | Nov 1, 2011 | Nov 1, 2012 | 5119 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.1 | — | May 1, 2012 | May 1, 2013 | 4938 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.2 | — | Nov 1, 2012 | Nov 1, 2013 | 4754 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.3 | — | May 1, 2013 | May 1, 2014 | 4573 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.4 | — | Nov 1, 2013 | Nov 1, 2014 | 4389 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.5 | — | May 1, 2014 | May 1, 2015 | 4208 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.6 | — | Nov 1, 2014 | Oct 18, 2015 | 4038 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.7 | — | May 1, 2015 | Mar 29, 2016 | 3875 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.8 | — | Oct 18, 2015 | Sep 1, 2016 | 3719 days past EOL | EOL |
| 5.9 | — | Mar 29, 2016 | Apr 11, 2017 | 3497 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.0 | — | Sep 1, 2016 | Oct 9, 2017 | 3316 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.1 | — | Apr 11, 2017 | Apr 15, 2018 | 3128 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.2 | — | Oct 9, 2017 | Oct 18, 2018 | 2942 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.3 | — | Apr 2, 2018 | May 3, 2019 | 2745 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.4 | — | Oct 18, 2018 | Oct 17, 2019 | 2578 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.5 | — | Apr 24, 2019 | May 19, 2020 | 2363 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.6 | — | Oct 17, 2019 | Oct 18, 2020 | 2211 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.7 | — | May 19, 2020 | May 1, 2021 | 2016 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.8 | — | Oct 18, 2020 | Oct 14, 2021 | 1850 days past EOL | EOL |
| 6.9 | — | May 1, 2021 | Apr 21, 2022 | 1661 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.0 | — | Oct 14, 2021 | Oct 20, 2022 | 1479 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.1 | — | Apr 21, 2022 | Apr 10, 2023 | 1307 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.2 | — | Oct 20, 2022 | Oct 16, 2023 | 1118 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.3 | — | Apr 10, 2023 | Apr 5, 2024 | 946 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.4 | — | Oct 16, 2023 | Oct 8, 2024 | 760 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.5 | — | Apr 5, 2024 | Apr 28, 2025 | 558 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.6 | — | Oct 8, 2024 | Oct 22, 2025 | 381 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.7 | — | Apr 28, 2025 | May 19, 2026 | 172 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.8 | — | Oct 22, 2025 | Oct 20, 2026 | 18 days past EOL | EOL |
| 7.9 | — | May 19, 2026 | TBD | Supported | Active |
| 8.0 | — | Oct 20, 2026 | TBD | Supported | Active |
Live EOL badge for your README — updates automatically at every build.
[](https://endoflife.ai/openbsd)
OpenBSD lifecycle status — the real story
OpenBSD's FAQ states the rule: when a security issue is found, the fix is backported to the two most recent OpenBSD releases as errata and announced on the mailing list. A release is therefore supported for as long as it is one of the newest two — about a year, given the project's two-releases-a-year rhythm visible in the table above.
There is no extended support and no long-term release. The upgrade path is also strict: upgrades are supported only from one release to the release immediately following it, so a system left two releases behind has to step through each one.
Verified against the vendor's lifecycle documentation on August 22, 2026.
OpenBSD release and support pattern
Across the 60 release lines with a published release date, OpenBSD has shipped a new line roughly every 6 months (median interval). A line typically stays supported for about 1 year from its release to its end-of-life date (measured on the 58 lines with both dates published).
Of the 60 release lines tracked, 58 are past end of life and 2 are still within support. The newest line, 8.0, was released October 20, 2026. No end-of-life date is currently published for the 2 supported lines.
Computed from the tracked release data at every build — the figures above are the dates in the table, restated, not an editorial estimate.
OpenBSD security intelligence
CISA KEV history: OpenBSD is named in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog 1 time, most recently on 2022-03-25. Derived from CISA's live catalog at every build.
What does OpenBSD end of life mean for your organization?
When a version of OpenBSD 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 OpenBSD 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 OpenBSD 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, check whether the vendor or a third party sells extended support with security patches for your OpenBSD version; coverage varies by product and version. Where it exists it is a bridge, not a permanent solution — plan your migration in parallel.
OpenBSD has 58 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 OpenBSD 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."