Python
LanguagePython 3.14 is the newest actively maintained release, currently at patch 3.14.7. 5 of 17 tracked cycles remain supported. The next cycle scheduled to reach end-of-life is 3.10, on October 31, 2026.
Support pattern
How Python 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.
Support windows have stayed consistent across the tracked history, so past cycles are a reasonable guide to what a new one will get.
Computed from release and end-of-life dates tracked for Python. 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 Python versioning, EOL & security support work
Python ships one new major.minor feature release each year in October, a cadence set out in PEP 602. Each release then moves through a defined lifecycle: a full "bugfix" phase where both general bugs and security issues are fixed, and a longer "security" phase where only security fixes land, before the branch is frozen for good. Because releases land annually and each spends multiple years moving through these phases, several branches are supported side by side.
Python vulnerabilities are handled by the Python Security Response Team (PSRT). Reports are sent privately to [email protected], and a coordinator works the report toward a resolution, publishing a public advisory once a fix exists. Because only branches still in the bugfix or security phase receive backported fixes, a Python version past end of life gets no patch for anything discovered afterward.
Sources: Python Developer's Guide: Status of Python Versions, PEP 811: Python Security Response Team
Release lifecycle
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