Rocky Linux 8 End of Life Date
Rocky Linux 8 end-of-life date, support status, and CVE risk. Data from endoflife.date and official vendor documentation.
Rocky Linux 8 was released on May 1, 2021 and support is scheduled to end on May 31, 2029 — a planned supported lifespan of 8 years and 1 month, shorter than the 9 years and 11 months median for Rocky Linux releases. Its most recent patch is 8.10, published May 31, 2024.
What does Rocky Linux 8 end of life mean?
When Rocky Linux 8 reaches end of life, the maintainers stop issuing security patches for this version. CVEs discovered after the EOL date are publicly disclosed on the National Vulnerability Database with no patch available. Exploit code frequently appears on GitHub within days of disclosure.
The CVE blind spot: Most vulnerability scanners check for known CVEs but do not flag the ongoing accumulation of unpatched vulnerabilities in EOL software versions. Running Rocky Linux 8 past its EOL date creates a permanently growing attack surface that standard security tooling will not surface.
Migrate to Rocky Linux 10 or implement compensating controls — network segmentation, enhanced monitoring, restricted access — while migration is underway.