⚡ TL;DR | Go Straight to the Amazon Linux End of Life Report.
Amazon Linux 2 will be going end of life on the 30th of June, 2026, meaning this version will no longer receive any support or security updates. We recommend that you update your installations in order to keep receiving security updates, patches, and technical support from AWS.
What Is Amazon Linux?
Amazon Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed and maintained by Amazon Web Services (AWS) for use on AWS cloud infrastructure and on-premises environments. It is designed to provide a secure, stable, and high-performance platform for running applications and workloads, with optimized integration for AWS services such as Amazon EC2, ECS, EKS, and Lambda. Amazon Linux includes long-term support, regular security updates, and access to a wide range of software packages through familiar package management tools.
Amazon Linux Lifecycle
So far there appears to be no fixed release cadence for new major versions of Amazon Linux. However, there are to distinct support phases. During the Standard support phase the release receives quarterly minor version updates. Once the version goes into the Maintenance phase the release receives only security updates and critical bug fixes. These updates are published as soon as they’re available.
Major version releases are based on part on the current version of the upstream Fedora Linux distribution and include new features and improvements in security and performance across the stack. Sometimes, specific packages may be added or replaced from other non-Fedora upstreams.
Minor versions releases happen quarterly. These releases are a cumulative list of updates that includes security and bug fixes in addition to new features and packages.
| Version | End of Life |
| 2023 | 30 Jun 2029 |
| 2 | 30 Jun 2026 |
| AMI 2018.03 (or 1) | 31 Dec 2023 |
Amazon Linux 2 End of Life
Amazon Linux 2 will go end of life on the 30th of June, 2026. From that moment on, it will no longer receive updates or support. AWS strongly urges users to update to Amazon Linux 2023 before the final end of life date. They provide a detailed migration guide here. Aside from still being supported, AL2023 also adds a list of new features that you can make use of, including but not limited to:
- A number of added, upgraded, and removed packages
- Graphical desktop support
- Package manager
- FIPS certification
Run the Audit Report
We have put together a new audit report that list all machines that are running Amazon Linux along with their version number and the days remaining until end of life. This way you have a quick and easy overview of which assets still need to be updated. In your Lansweeper Sites you can find this information under Risk Insights -> OS Lifecycle
