Linux Kernel 6.6 has been assigned the status of a long-term support branch. Updates for the 6.6 branch will be released at least until December 2026, but it is possible that, like the branches 5.10, 5.4, and 4.19, the support period will be extended to six years, lasting until December 2029. For regular kernel releases, updates are provided only until the next stable branch is released (for example, updates for branch 6.5 were issued until the release of 6.6).
Support for long-term branches continues:
- 6.1 — until December 2026 + support under SLTS (used in Debian 12 and the main branch of OpenWRT).
- 5.15 — until October 2026 (used in Ubuntu 22.04, Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel 7 and OpenWRT 23.05).
- 5.10 — until December 2026 + support within SLTS (used in Debian 11, Android 12 and OpenWRT 22).
- 5.4 — until December 2025 (used in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and in Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel 6)
- 4.19 — until December 2024 + support under SLTS (used in Debian 10 and in Android 10).
- 4.14 — until January 2024.
Separately, based on kernels 4.4, 4.19, 5.10, and 6.1, the Linux Foundation provides SLTS (Super Long Term Support) branches, which are supported separately and will be maintained for 10-20 years. SLTS branch support is managed within the Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) project, which includes companies such as Toshiba, Siemens, Renesas, Bosch, Hitachi, and MOXA, as well as maintainers of the main kernel's LTS branches, Debian developers, and creators of the KernelCI project. SLTS kernels are aimed at use in civil infrastructure technical systems and critical industrial systems.
Source: opennet.ru
