The Linux Foundation has announced its support for the Linux 6.1 kernel branch as part of the Super Long Term Support (SLTS) program. Unlike the Long Term Support (LTS) program, the SLTS program focuses on providing longer support cycles for the core in technical systems of civilian infrastructure and important industrial systems. Updates for the Linux 6.1 branch will be released for a minimum of 10 years. During this time, not only reliability and safety corrections will be made to the core, but support for new hardware will also be added from newer branches. Previously, extended support cycles were applied to kernels 4.4, 4.19, and 5.10.
To track updates in the SLTS kernel 6.1, the Git repository Linux-Cip is available. The maintenance of the SLTS branches will be carried out by the Linux Foundation Civil Infrastructure Platform (cip), which includes companies such as TOSHIBA, Siemens, Renes, Bosch, Hitachi, and Moxa. In addition to these companies, the main kernel maintainers, Debian developers, and the creators of the kernelci project will also be involved.
Here is a list of LTS versions supported by Linux kernel developers:
- 6.1 – until December 2026 (used in Debian 12)
- 5.15 – until October 2026 (used in Ubuntu 04.22, Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel 7, and Openwrt Master)
- 5.10 – until December 2026 (used in Debian 11, Android 12, and Openwrt 22)
- 5.4 – until December 2025 (used in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel 6)
- 4.19 – until December 2024 (used in Debian 10 and Android 10)
- 4.14 – until January 2024