Perl · Lifecycle Status

Perl End of Life (EOL) Dates & Support Timeline

Complete end-of-life dates, support windows, and security status for all Perl versions. Data sourced from endoflife.date and official vendor documentation. Updated at every deploy.

Perl 5.38 reaches end of life on July 2, 2026. Plan your migration now — 54 days remaining.
Latest Active
5.40.4
5.40 series
Next EOL
5.38
Jul 2, 2026
Active Versions
2
of 9 total
EOL Versions
6
no longer patched
Release Cycle Timeline
EOL   Warning   Active   Today
Release cycle timeline 201820192020202120222023202420252026202720285.265.285.305.325.345.365.385.405.42TODAY
All Versions
VersionLatest ReleaseRelease DateEOL DateDaysStatus
5.26 5.26.3 May 30, 2017 May 30, 2020 2170 days past EOL EOL
5.28 5.28.3 Jun 22, 2018 Jun 23, 2021 1781 days past EOL EOL
5.30 5.30.3 May 22, 2019 May 22, 2022 1448 days past EOL EOL
5.32 5.32.1 Jun 20, 2020 Jun 20, 2023 1054 days past EOL EOL
5.34 5.34.3 May 20, 2021 May 20, 2024 719 days past EOL EOL
5.36 5.36.3 May 27, 2022 May 27, 2025 347 days past EOL EOL
5.38 5.38.5 Jul 2, 2023 Jul 2, 2026 54 days remaining Warning
5.40 5.40.4 Jun 9, 2024 Jun 9, 2027 396 days remaining Active
5.42 5.42.2 Jul 3, 2025 Jul 3, 2028 786 days remaining Active

What does Perl end of life mean for your organization?

When a Perl version 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 Perl 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.

Check your full stack for EOL risk

Upload requirements.txt, package.json, or Gemfile — full EOL report instantly.

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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the end-of-life date for Perl?
The next Perl version reaching EOL is 5.38 on July 2, 2026. See the full table above for all version EOL dates.
What is the latest supported version of Perl?
The latest active version of Perl is 5.40.4. Always verify against the table above as support windows can change.
What happens when Perl reaches end of life?
When Perl reaches end of life, the vendor stops issuing security patches. Any CVEs disclosed after the EOL date accumulate indefinitely with no patch path — creating an ever-growing attack surface that most vulnerability scanners do not flag.
How do I check if I'm running an EOL version of Perl?
Check your current version against the table above. If your version's EOL date has passed, you are running unsupported software. You can also use the endoflife.ai Stack Scanner to check your entire dependency file at once.
Is there extended support available for EOL Perl versions?
Some vendors offer extended support for EOL software. Contact the original vendor or check with enterprise support providers for options.

Related Products

Data from endoflife.date API · endoflife.date · Generated at build time · How we source data →