Today, Canonical announced the expansion of the Legacy add-on for Ubuntu Pro, extending total coverage for Ubuntu LTS releases to 15 years. Starting with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr), this extension brings the full benefits of Ubuntu Pro – including continuous security patching, compliance tooling and support for your OS – to long-lived production systems.

In highly regulated or hardware-dependent industries, upgrades threaten to disrupt tightly controlled security and compliance. For many organizations, maintaining production systems for more than a decade is complex, but remains a more sensible option than a full upgrade.

That’s why, in 2024, we first introduced the Legacy add-on for Ubuntu Pro, starting with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr). The Legacy add-on increased the total maintenance window for Ubuntu LTS releases to 12 years: five years of standard security maintenance, five years of Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM), and two years of additional coverage with the Legacy add-on – with optional support throughout. Due to the positive reception and growing interest in longer lifecycle coverage, we’re excited to now extend the Legacy add-on to 5 years, bringing a 15-year security maintenance and support window to Ubuntu LTS releases.

Throughout this 15-year window, Ubuntu Pro provides continuous security maintenance across the entire Ubuntu base, kernel, and key open source components. Canonical’s security team actively scans, triages, and backports critical, high, and select medium CVEs to all maintained LTS releases, ensuring security without forcing disruptive major upgrades that break compatibility or require re-certification.

Break/fix support remains an optional add-on. When production issues arise, you can get access to our Support team through this service and troubleshoot with experts who contribute to Ubuntu every day, who’ve seen similar problems before and know how to resolve them quickly.

The scope of the Legacy add-on itself is unchanged, but the commitment is longer, giving users additional years to manage transition timelines and maintain compliance. 

This updated coverage applies from Ubuntu 14.04 LTS onward. With this extension, Ubuntu 14.04 LTS is now supported until April 2029, a full 15 years after its debut.

By committing to a 15-year lifecycle, Canonical gives users:

• Realistic timelines for planning and executing major migrations
• Continuous security and compliance coverage for long-lived systems
• Flexibility to modernize infrastructure strategically rather than reactively

Infrastructure is complicated, and upgrades carry real costs and risks. This expansion acknowledges those realities and gives you the support duration your deployments actually require.

Current Ubuntu Pro subscriptions will continue uninterrupted. No re-enrollment, no reinstallation, no surprise migration projects.

The Legacy add-on is available after the first 10 years of coverage (standard security maintenance plus ESM, and optional break/bug fix support), priced at a 50% premium over standard Ubuntu Pro. This applies whether you’re approaching that milestone with 16.04 LTS or already using the Legacy add-on with 14.04 LTS.

To activate coverage beyond ESM, contact Canonical Sales or reach out to your account manager.  

For more information about the Legacy add-on, visit our Ubuntu Pro page.  

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