Salt version support lifecycle#
Together with the Salt supported operating systems guidelines, this document is intended to clearly define how long a particular version of Salt will receive official packages, testing, and technical support.
Version support lifecycle#
Salt version | Release date | Active support ends | CVE and critical support ends |
---|---|---|---|
3006 LTS | April 18, 2023 | April 18, 2024 | April 18, 2025 |
See Older version support lifecycle for versions of Salt older than 3006.
LTS/STS release and support policy#
Beginning with the 3006 release of Salt, the Salt Project will follow an LTS/STS release strategy. Under this strategy, the Salt Project will release one LTS (long-term support) release of Salt per year and one STS (short-term support) release each year. The LTS release will receive bug fix releases for a longer period of time than STS releases.
The purpose of the LTS release is to provide users with a stable version of Salt for a longer period (2 years). The purpose of the STS release is to provide a feature release to users who need or prefer access to the latest features in between LTS releases.
LTS release | STS release | |
---|---|---|
Release schedule |
|
|
Support schedule |
|
|
Development schedule | Features developed in the 6 months prior to release | Features developed in the 6 months prior to release |
Use case | Best for users who:
|
Best for users who:
|
The following graphic shows an example of the LTS/STS release strategy timeline for two years of the development and release cycle:

Support level definitions#
Active support#
Active support is defined as:
- The Salt Project will issue regular point releases with critical bug fixes.
- Improved software functionality may be provided at the discretion of the project.
- Point releases will include the content of previously released updates.
- The focus of point releases will be high and critical bugs.
CVE and critical support#
CVE and critical support is defined as:
- The Salt Project may release point releases with fixes for selected CVEs.
- Fixes in newer branches will not be back ported.
- The focus of point releases will be critical CVEs and breaking fixes that are caused by CVE fixes.
Older version support lifecycle#
The following table lists the support lifecycle for versions of Salt prior to the 3006 version:
Salt version | Phase 1 support ends | Phase 2 support ends | Phase 3 support ends | Extended life support ends |
---|---|---|---|---|
3005 | Feb 25, 2023 | Aug 25, 2023 | Feb 25, 2024 | Feb 25, 2025 |
3004 | Apr 18, 2022 | Oct 18, 2022 | Apr 18, 2023 | Apr 18, 2024 |
3003 | Sep 30, 2021 | Mar 31, 2022 | Sep 30, 2022 | Sep 30, 2023 |
3002 | Apr 21, 2021 | Oct 21, 2021 | Apr 21, 2022 | Apr 21, 2023 |
3001 | Dec 31, 2020 | Jun 30, 2021 | Dec 31, 2021 | Dec 31, 2022 |
3000 | Aug 31, 2020 | Feb 28, 2021 | Aug 31, 2021 | Aug 31, 2022 |
2019.2 | Sep 30, 2019 | Mar 31, 2020 | Sep 30, 2020 | Sep 30, 2021 |
2018.3 | Oct 31, 2018 | Apr 30, 2019 | Oct 31, 2019 | Oct 31, 2020 |
2017.7 | Jan 31, 2018 | Jun 30, 2018 | Aug 30, 2019 | Dec 31, 2019 |
2016.3 | Nov 30, 2016 | May 31, 2017 | Nov 30, 2017 | Nov 30, 2018 |
2015.8 | Mar 31, 2016 | Sep 30, 2016 | Mar 31, 2017 | Mar 31, 2018 |
2015.5 | Nov 31, 2015 | May 31, 2016 | Nov 30, 2016 | Nov 30, 2017 |
2014.7 | May 31, 2015 | Nov 30, 2015 | May 31, 2016 | May 31, 2017 |
Older version support level definitions#
Phase 1 support#
Regular point release support
During phase 1:
- The Salt Project will issue regular point releases with critical bug fixes.
- Improved software functionality may be provided at the discretion of the project.
- Point releases will include the content of previously released updates.
- The focus of phase 1 releases will be high and critical bugs.
Phase 2 support#
On-demand support
During phase 2:
- The Salt Project may release point releases with bug fixes as requested by VMware customers.
- Point releases will include the content of previously released updates.
- The focus of phase 2 releases will be high or critical bugs.
Phase 3 support#
CVE support
During phase 3:
- The Salt Project will release point releases with fixes for selected, critical CVEs.
- Fixes in newer branches will not be back ported.
Extended life support#
During extended life support:
- The Salt Project will not release any point releases.
- Users will still have access to archived documentation.
- The Salt Project will provide ongoing best-effort technical support for customers on existing installations.
- No bug fixes, security fixes, improved functionality, or root-cause analysis will be provided.
Phase details#
Phase 1 support (6 months) | Phase 2 support (6 months) | Phase 3 support (6 months) | Extended life support (12 months) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Access to documentation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Technical support [1] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (best effort) |
Access to customer portal [2] | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
CVE fixes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Point release with bug fixes | Yes | Yes | ||
Software enhancements | Yes |
[1] | For VMware customers only. |
[2] | For VMware customers only. |