Debian

Debian 13 is the newest actively maintained release, currently at patch 13.6. 5 of 18 tracked cycles remain supported. The next cycle scheduled to reach end-of-life is 9, on July 1, 2022.

Latest version

13.6

Jul 11, 2026

Actively maintained cycles

of 18 tracked

Total cycles tracked

since Jun 17, 1996

Support pattern

How Debian has behaved across the cycles tracked here, rather than what its policy documents state. Useful for judging how much runway a version is likely to have before you commit to it.

Typical support window

42 mo (~3.5 years)

median of 18 completed cycles

New cycle roughly every

23 months

median gap between releases

Compared with os

+7 mo

longer than the os median

Next end of life

660 days

Debian 12

Support windows are getting longer: the most recent cycles run about 41 months longer than the earlier ones.

Computed from release and end-of-life dates tracked for Debian. Medians are used rather than averages so one unusually short or long release does not skew the figure. Cycles with no recorded end-of-life date are excluded from the support window.

How Debian versioning, EOL & security support work

Debian development runs through three main branches: unstable, testing, and stable. Packages move from unstable into testing once they clear stability criteria, then testing becomes the next stable release after a months-long freeze cycle. Once a new stable release ships, the previous one becomes oldstable, each carried for a defined overlap period.

Actively maintained (current stable)

The release designated stable gets full support from the Debian Security Team plus periodic point releases that bundle up accumulated fixes. Package versions in stable don't change, but security issues are patched as they're found.

Security support only (oldstable, then Debian LTS/ELTS)

Once superseded, a release becomes oldstable and continues getting security-only updates for a defined overlap period. After that, the volunteer-run Debian Long Term Support (LTS) project can continue issuing security patches on a best-effort basis.

End of life

Once a release passes the end of its oldstable window and any LTS coverage, the Debian Security Team stops issuing advisories for it and users are expected to have moved to a currently supported release.

Debian vulnerabilities are handled by the Debian Security Team, which issues formal Debian Security Advisories (DSAs) for supported releases, with the volunteer LTS team taking over once mainline security support ends. Running a release past both its stable/oldstable window and any LTS coverage means no official advisories are being produced for it, so known CVEs stay unpatched.

Sources: Debian Releases

Release lifecycle

Actively maintainedSecurity support onlyEnd of life

Today

13Latest

13.6 · Jul 11, 2026

12.15 · Jul 11, 2026

EOL Aug 31, 2026

EOL Jun 30, 2024

EOL Jul 1, 2022

EOL Jun 30, 2020

EOL May 31, 2018

EOL Feb 29, 2016

EOL Feb 6, 2012

EOL Feb 15, 2010

3.1

EOL Mar 31, 2008

3.0

EOL Jun 30, 2006

2.2

EOL Jun 30, 2003

2.1

EOL Oct 30, 2000

2.0

EOL Feb 15, 1999

1.3

EOL Dec 8, 1998

1.2

EOL Oct 23, 1997

1.1

EOL Dec 12, 1996

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