14 DAY TRIAL // Linux kernel maintainer Willy Tarreau announced that the Linux 3.10 kernel series reached end of life and it will no longer receive maintenance updates that patch critical security vulnerabilities.
The end of life was reached this past weekend with the release of Linux kernel 3.10.108, which is the last maintenance update for the Linux 3.10 branch. Therefore, users and OEMs are now urged to upgrade to a more recent, long-term supported Linux kernel, such as the Linux 4.4 LTS series.
"It is the last one in this branch and changes the status of the 3.10 branch to end of life. Thus for once I'm *not* suggesting to upgrade to this one, except if it's just to finish your migration to a newer branch (such as 4.4)," said Willy Tarreau in the mailing list announcement.
Here's how the Linux 3.10 kernel series was maintained
The developer also noted that he wrote an article for those interested in how the Linux 3.10 kernel series was maintained over the years. The article was written because he still sees some OEMs using outdated Linux 3.10 kernels on their devices. The article can be accessed at http://wtarreau.blogspot.fr/2017/11/look-back-to-end-of-life-lts-kernel-310.html.
If you're running a kernel from the Linux 3.10 series on your personal computer, no matter the Linux-based operating system you're using, you are urged to either update to Linux kernel 3.10.108, which you can download right now from kernel.org if you fancy compiling it yourself, or consider upgrading to a newer LTS release, such as Linux kernel 4.4 LTS or Linux kernel 4.9 LTS.
If you decide to update to Linux kernel 3.10.108 for one last run with the Linux 3.10 series, you'll be able to upgrade next week to the most recent long-term supported kernel branch, Linux 4.14 LTS, which coming November 12, 2017, and will be supported for six years. Either way, keep in mind to always update your kernels when new maintenance updates are available.