Debian 11 Long Term Support reaches end-of-life
August 31st, 2026
The Debian Long Term Support (LTS) Team hereby announces that Debian 11
bullseye
support has reached its end-of-life today, 31 August 2026,
five years after its initial release on 14 August 2021.
Starting in September, Debian will not provide further security updates for
Debian 11. A subset of bullseye
packages will be supported by external
parties. Detailed information can be found at
Extended LTS.
The Debian LTS Team is currently providing security support for Debian 12
bookworm
, the current oldstable release. Thanks to the combined efforts
of different teams including the Security Team, the Release Team, and the LTS
Team, the Debian 12 life cycle encompasses five years.
Debian 12 will receive Long Term Support until 30 June 2028. The supported
architectures in Debian 12 LTS are amd64, i386, arm64, armhf and ppc64el.
For further information about using bookworm
LTS and upgrading from
bullseye
LTS, please refer to
LTS/Using.
Debian and its LTS Team would like to thank all contributing users, developers, sponsors and other Debian teams who are making it possible to extend the life of previous stable releases, and who have made Bullseye LTS a success.
If you rely on Debian LTS, please consider joining the team, providing patches, testing or funding the efforts.
About Debian
The Debian Project was founded in 1993 by Ian Murdock to be a truly
free community project. Since then the project has grown to be one of
the largest and most influential open source projects. Thousands of
volunteers from all over the world work together to create and
maintain Debian software. Available in 70 languages, and
supporting a huge range of computer types, Debian calls itself the
universal operating system
.
Contact Information
For further information, please visit the Debian web pages at https://www.debian.org/ or send mail to .
Facts Only
* Debian 11 bullseye support ended on August 31st, 2026.
* This was five years after its initial release on August 14th, 2021.
* Security updates for Debian 11 will stop in September 2026.
* A subset of bullseye packages will receive support from external parties.
* The LTS Team is currently providing security support for Debian 12 bookworm (oldstable).
* Debian 12 will receive Long Term Support until June 30th, 2028.
* Supported architectures in Debian 12 LTS include amd64, i386, arm64, armhf, and ppc64el.
* Information on using bookworm LTS and upgrading from bullseye LTS is available at LTS/Using.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The transition marks a managed shift in the support lifecycle, where a previous stable release concludes its defined support window while the next iteration enters the Long Term Support phase. The pattern observed is the structured handoff of maintenance responsibility across a family of releases, establishing a five-year cycle for stability that allows for incremental development rather than abrupt replacements. This creates an implicit expectation for continuity: users relying on LTS must anticipate future lifecycles and recognize that support longevity is not guaranteed indefinitely but managed through community and team coordination. The implications concern the locus of control; when older infrastructure reaches EOL, the focus shifts to migration and participation in the next cycle, which necessitates a sustained commitment from the community to fund or contribute patches for legacy systems. The underlying assumption is that stability requires multi-year planning, but this process demands external engagement from those who benefit from legacy support to ensure the continuity of the project's stated mission.
Bridge Questions: How does the current LTS structure influence the perceived urgency for migration versus continued maintenance on EOL systems? What mechanisms should be established to ensure external support for legacy packages remains sustainable beyond immediate external interest? What is the community responsibility in facilitating these transitions without creating undue burdens on maintainers?
Sentinel — Human
The text reads like an official announcement from a project body, characterized by factual reporting rather than subjective analysis.