Kernel developers extended maintenance deadlines for three supported LTS branches of the Linux kernel. Support for branch 6.18 has been extended from 2 to 3 years, 6.12 – from 2 to 4 years, 6.6 – from 3 to 4 years. Support for branches 6.1, 5.15 and 5.10 has not changed. For regular kernel releases, updates are released only before the next stable branch is released (for example, updates for the 6.19 branch will be released before 7.0 is released). For branches with a long term of support, two-year support is initially announced, but as a rule this period is extended several times.
Longterm branches are supported:
- 6.18 – until December 2027 2028
- 6.12 – until December 2026 2028 (used in Debian 13, SUSE 16, Android 16 and Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel 8).
- 6.6 – until December 2026 2027 (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, based on kernels 4.4, 4.19, 5.10, 6.1 and 6.12, the Linux Foundation provides branches SLTS (Super Long Term Support
/Reports, release notes, official announcements.