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Debian
Debian 11 "bullseye" reached end-of-life as its Long Term Support (LTS) term ended
left 31 Aug 2026
Quick answers
- Is it true that Debian 11 "bullseye" end-of-life?
- Yes — and the date has already passed (31 Aug 2026). After 31 August 2026, Debian 11 "bullseye" receives no further security updates from either the main security team or the LTS team.
- When did it take effect?
- 31 Aug 2026 (already passed). Verified against the vendor's own announcement.
- What should I use instead?
- Upgrade to Debian 12 "bookworm" (supported through June 2028) — or Debian 13 "trixie" — with a standard dist-upgrade, and repin any container base images from `debian:11`/`debian:bullseye` to `debian:12`/`debian:bookworm`.
What this means for you
After 31 August 2026, Debian 11 "bullseye" receives no further security updates from either the main security team or the LTS team. Servers, containers, and CI images still on `debian:11` / `debian:bullseye` are now unpatched against new CVEs. Regular security support ended on 14 August 2024; the LTS term extended coverage for two more years, and that has now expired too.
Where to go
Upgrade to Debian 12 "bookworm" (supported through June 2028) — or Debian 13 "trixie" — with a standard dist-upgrade, and repin any container base images from `debian:11`/`debian:bullseye` to `debian:12`/`debian:bookworm`. Where a longer runway is needed, Freexian's commercial Extended LTS covers bullseye beyond the free LTS window.
- Debian 12 "bookworm"
- Debian 13 "trixie"
- Freexian Extended LTS (commercial)
Debian 11 “bullseye” shipped in August 2021 and carried three years of regular support followed by two years of community LTS. Both are now spent: the release page states LTS ran “until August 31st, 2026.” Because debian:bullseye is one of the most common container base images, a large amount of CI and production infrastructure quietly ages past its last patch on the day the tag stops receiving updates — the reason this belongs on the calendar even though the date has passed.
Entry changelog
- — last reviewed.
- — Entry created — bullseye LTS ended 31 Aug 2026 (Debian.org release page).
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