Linux 6.18 kernel has been assigned long-term support status. Updates for the 6.18 branch will be released at least until December 2027, but it is also possible that, as with previous LTS branches, the support period will be extended to six years. For regular kernel releases, updates are only released until the next stable branch is released (for example, updates for the 6.17 branch were released until the 6.18 release).
At the same time, the end of the maintenance cycle for the Linux kernel 5.4 branch was announced, for which the final release 5.4.302 has been published (no more updates will be released in the 5.4.x series). The 5.4 branch was formed in November 2019, maintained for six years, and used in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel 6. Products shipped with kernel 5.4 are recommended to be transitioned to more current LTS releases.
The maintenance of longterm branches continues:
- 6.12 — until December 2026 (used in Debian 13, SUSE 16, Android 16, and Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel 8).
- 6.6 — until December 2026 (used in OpenWRT 24.10).
- 6.1 — until December 2027 (used in Debian 12).
- 5.15 — until October 2026 (used in Ubuntu 22.04, Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel 7, and OpenWRT 23.05).
- 5.10 — until December 2026 (used in Debian 11, Android 12, and OpenWRT 22).
Separately, on the basis of kernels 4.4, 4.19, 5.10, 6.1, and 6.12, the Linux Foundation provides SLTS (Super Long Term Support) branches, which are maintained separately and supported for 10-20 years. The maintenance of SLTS branches is carried out within the framework of the Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) project, which involves companies such as Toshiba, Siemens, Renesas, Bosch, Hitachi, and MOXA, as well as maintainers of LTS branches of the main kernel, Debian developers, and creators of the KernelCI project. SLTS kernels are aimed at use in technical systems of civil infrastructure and in critical industrial systems.
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