Red Hat Enterprise Linux
OSRed Hat Enterprise Linux 10 is the newest actively maintained release, currently at patch 10.2. 4 of 7 tracked cycles remain supported. The next cycle scheduled to reach end-of-life is 7, on June 30, 2024.
Support pattern
How Red Hat Enterprise Linux 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 Red Hat Enterprise Linux. 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 Red Hat Enterprise Linux versioning, EOL & security support work
RHEL major and minor versions (expressed as major.minor, such as 10.2) each move through a defined, multi-phase lifecycle set out in Red Hat's update and errata policy. Red Hat issues errata (RHSA for security, RHBA for bug fixes, RHEA for enhancements) applied cumulatively to the latest release, and minor releases periodically refresh hardware enablement and installation media.
Red Hat handles vulnerabilities through its own security response process, publishing RHSA errata for issues meeting defined severity criteria. Once a RHEL version reaches the Extended Life Phase, no further bug or security fixes are produced for it, so continuing to run it leaves systems exposed to unpatched vulnerabilities unless it's on an add-on extended-support subscription.
Sources: Red Hat Enterprise Linux update and errata support policy
Release lifecycle
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