Nine Java runtime lines reach end of life in September 2026 — including Oracle JDK 17 Premier Support, Oracle GraalVM 17 and SapMachine 17 LTS. Every date verified against each vendor’s lifecycle. Who is affected, the free escape routes that keep JDK 17 patched into 2027–2029, and the paid options.
The full September table
| Runtime line | EOL date | LTS? | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| SapMachine 17 | 2026-09-01 | Yes | SAP’s five-year window closes. SAP workloads move to SapMachine 21 (supported to 2028-09-01). |
| Eclipse Temurin 26 | 2026-09-15 | No | Routine — ends at JDK 27 GA. Move to 27 or step onto an LTS. |
| BellSoft Liberica 26 | 2026-09-18 | No | Routine. |
| Oracle OpenJDK 26 builds | 2026-09-18 | No | Routine. |
| Oracle JDK 26 | 2026-09-18 | No | Routine. |
| Azul Zulu 26 | 2026-09-30 | No | Routine. |
| Oracle GraalVM for JDK 17 | 2026-09-30 | Yes | Native-image workloads on 17 need GraalVM for JDK 21 (to 2028-09-30) or later. |
| Oracle JDK 17 (Premier Support) | 2026-09-30 | Yes | The big one. Free public updates from Oracle end; Extended Support is paid. See the escape routes below. |
| IBM Semeru 26 | 2026-09-30 | No | Routine. |
What's covered
- Key Dates at a Glance
- The full September table
- If you are on JDK 17: four exits, three of them free
- Why so many at once?
Full guide with every version, risk scores, and live updates: https://endoflife.ai/article-java-september-2026-wave
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