5 years
LTS support
Every Long Term Support release is supported for at least five years, full bug fixes for four years, then security-only fixes in the final year.
Lifecycle
The road ahead.
OpenSSL ships a feature release every six months and a new Long Term Support release every two years. Here is the release plan, the support lifecycle, and what's coming next, maintained by the team that builds it.
Release lifecycle
How long each release is supported.
13 months
Standard support
Non-LTS feature releases are supported for a minimum of 13 months from their release date (from 3.5 onward).
Every 2 yrs
New LTS cadence
A new LTS release is designated at least every two years, each odd-numbered April (Apr 2027, Apr 2029, …).
Always 2
Dual-LTS guarantee
At least two fully supported LTS releases are available at any given time, so teams always have a stable target.
5yr
LTS lifecycle
Release day
Ships on schedule, April for LTS, October for feature releases.
Full support · yrs 0–4
Every reported bug and security issue is fixed, on every supported platform.
Security-only · final yr
Only security fixes ship in the last year, time to plan the upgrade.
End of life → next LTS
Support ends, but a newer LTS is always live first, no gap.
Versioning & release strategy
How OpenSSL versions its releases.
OpenSSL's versioning scheme has evolved into a semantic versioning system (Major.Minor.Patch) adopted from version 3.x onwards. A Major release allows for incompatible changes that may break existing code, a Minor release adds functionality without breaking backward compatibility, and a Patch release is strictly for bug or security fixes and must not impact existing code. This system was implemented to provide more clarity and predictability compared to the older, non-standard scheme used before version 3, which used letters for patch releases (e.g., 0.9.8a).
A key strategic shift is the team's recent agreement to increase the frequency of major releases. A slow major release cadence in the past led to technical mistakes and debt persisting in the codebase for long periods. With this new approach, the team has established a forward-looking roadmap, with specific dates for future major versions, such as OpenSSL 5.0, now planned for October 2027. The current long-term support (LTS) release is OpenSSL 3.5, supported until 8 April 2030, with the 4.2 LTS release confirmed for April 2027.
Support timeline
Every release, on one timeline.
Two LTS lines always overlap, so there is always a supported, stable release to target. The final year of each LTS is security-only.
20252026202720282029203020312032
3.0 LTS
3.4
3.5 LTS
3.6
4.0
4.1
4.2 LTS
5.0
LTS · full supportSecurity-only (final year)Standard (≥13 months)
Release plan
Dates you can plan around.
VersionTypeReleasedSupported untilStatus
3.0LTSLTSReleased07 Sep 2021Until07 Sep 2026Supported
3.1Non-LTSReleased14 Mar 2023Until14 Mar 2025End of life
3.2Non-LTSReleased23 Nov 2023Until23 Nov 2025End of life
3.3Non-LTSReleased09 Apr 2024Until09 Apr 2026End of life
3.4Non-LTSReleased22 Oct 2024Until22 Oct 2026Supported
3.5LTSLTSReleased08 Apr 2025Until08 Apr 2030Supported
3.6Non-LTSReleased01 Oct 2025Until01 Nov 2026Supported
4.0Non-LTSReleased14 Apr 2026Until14 May 2027Supported
4.1Non-LTSReleasedOct 2026UntilNov 2027Planned
4.2LTSLTSReleasedApr 2027UntilApr 2032Planned
5.0Non-LTSReleasedOct 2027UntilNov 2028Planned
Past releases (3.1–3.3) remain available with commercial Extended LTS. Dates subject to change.