Apache Tomcat Server Service Lifecycle (End of Life)

Last updated on November 9, 2023

Tomcat is an open-source web server application and is used as an embedded server in Spring Boot applications because of its seamless integration with the Spring framework. Since Tomcat can also deploy Java applications, it is widely popular amongst Java developers.

Apache Tomcat is the open-source implementation of various Jakarta specifications, including Jakarta Servlet, Jakarta Authentication, and more.

Support status guide

End of life (EOL) is the end of a product’s useful life. When a product reaches the end of its life cycle, the manufacturer no longer supports it. The following table explains the different phases of a product’s lifecycle. Testing status is when the product is initially released and EOL is when product support is no longer offered. The time between these two points is the support timeframe.

Testing

The software is not yet publicly available. It is in testing phase i.e., alpha, beta, release preview etc.

Active

The software is actively supported by the vendor.

Phasing Out

The software will soon reach its end of life. You need to look for upgrade or migration options. The software will automatically go into phasing out status 2 months before end of life.

End Of Life

The software is no longer supported by the vendor. You need to make sure your system and environment are safe.

Version

Released

Security Support

Tomcat 10.1
1 year and 6 months ago
(22 September 2022)
Supported
Tomcat 10.0
3 years and 4 months ago
(3 December 2020)
Ended 1 year and 5 months ago
(31 October 2022)
Tomcat 9
6 years and 6 months ago
(27 September 2017)
Not Supported
Tomcat 8.5
8 years and 1 month ago
(17 March 2016)
Ended 2 weeks and 4 days ago
(31 March 2024)
Tomcat 8.0
10 years and 2 months ago
(29 January 2014)
Ended 5 years and 9 months ago
(30 June 2018)
Tomcat 7
11 years and 3 months ago
(10 January 2013)
Ended 3 years and 4 weeks ago
(21 March 2021)
Tomcat 6
17 years and 5 months ago
(21 October 2006)
Ended 7 years and 3 months ago
(31 December 2016)
Tomcat 5
20 years and 7 months ago
(6 September 2003)
Ended 11 years and 6 months ago
(30 September 2012)

The Apache Tomcat versions are released after thorough scrutiny in the Alpha and beta channels, before making their way to the Stable channel. Even so, there is no fixed cadence when a newer version of Tomcat will be released.

Moreover, the support cadence is also not fixed for this software. That said, Tomcat versions are roughly supported for 10 years. At a time, 3 Tomcat servers are supported. For example, when Tomcat 10 was released, Tomcat 7 had reached the End of Life. Similarly, Tomcat 8.5 will most likely expire once Tomcat 11 is released.

Tomcat only receives security updates.