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Posted on Originally published at endoflife.ai

Kubernetes LTS Does Not Exist Upstream — Here Is What Actually Buys You Time

There is no Kubernetes LTS release: every minor version gets roughly 14 months (12 standard + 2 maintenance) and a new one ships every four months. Long-term support does exist — as a paid tier on EKS (26 months), AKS (~24 months) and GKE (~24 months). What each really covers, what it costs you, and why Kubernetes 1.32 has been unpatched since February 28, 2026 for anyone who thought otherwise.

What that means for the versions people are still running

Version Released Standard support ends End of life Risk score
1.36 2026-04-22 2027-04-28 2027-06-28 30
1.35 2025-12-17 2026-12-28 2027-02-28 30
1.34 2025-08-27 2026-08-27 2026-10-27 45
1.33 2025-04-23 2026-04-28 2026-06-28 55
1.32 2024-12-11 2025-12-28 2026-02-28 60

What's covered

  • The upstream clock: 12 + 2, every four months
  • What that means for the versions people are still running
  • Where LTS actually lives: EKS, AKS and GKE
  • What to do

Full guide with every version, risk scores, and live updates: https://endoflife.ai/article-kubernetes-lts

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