Linux Kernel LTS Support Extended for Multiple Releases

Greg Kroah-Hartman, Linux stable maintainer, has updated the projected end-of-life dates for several longterm (LTS) releases in the kernel.org repository, extending support beyond previous documentation.

He explained that this update follows discussions with companies and other stable kernel maintainers, confirming that several current LTS branches will receive extended maintenance.

According to the revised projections:

• Linux 6.18 is now expected to be supported through December 2028
• Linux 6.12 is now expected to be supported through December 2028
• Linux 6.6 is now expected to be supported through December 2027
• Linux 6.1 remains supported through December 2027
• Linux 5.15 remains supported through December 2026
• Linux 5.10 remains supported through December 2026

Previously, some branches had shorter end-of-life timelines. The latest update revises the public release page to show longer maintenance coverage, especially for the newer 6.x LTS series, which are widely used by enterprise distributions, cloud platforms, hardware vendors, and embedded device manufacturers that require predictable, multi-year support.

Finally, it’s important to note that this update does not introduce technical changes to the kernel. It only revises the projected end-of-life dates on kernel.org to reflect current maintenance commitments.

For more information, see Kroah-Hartman’s commit.