Linux 5.10 LTS will continue to be maintained until the end of 2026

As the latest long-term support version, Linux 5.10 LTS was only planned to be maintained until the end of 2022 when it was first launched. However, after enough companies intervened to improve and test, Linux 5.10 LTS will now be maintained until the end of 2026.

Linux 5.10 LTS was originally planned to be maintained until the end of next year, while previous kernels such as Linux 5.4 LTS will be maintained until 2024, and even earlier Linux 4.19 LTS and 4.14 LTS will be maintained until 2024. In contrast, the life cycle of Linux 5.10 LTS appears to be very short. This is mainly due to the limited number of developers and organizations that have helped test new candidate versions and promised to use this kernel LTS series. But now that enough participants have joined the 5.10 LTS, Greg Kroah-Hartman confirmed that he will maintain this version together with Sasha Levin until December 2026.

This will allow Linux 5.10 LTS to receive six years of continuous maintenance. At the same time, Linux 4.4 LTS will end its support early next year after six years of operation. This is good news for a series of branch systems that use the Linux 5.10 kernel, such as the Debian 11 and Android 12 operating systems.