Supported distributions & maintained kernels

Every Linux distribution KernelCare patches, grouped by family and lifecycle status. Each distro expands to a maintained-kernels table — one row per OS version with its full name, architecture, supported-kernel count and status. Find your distro and see exactly which versions are actively patched.

Patches

How coverage works

The lifecycle behind each status

Coverage is predictable by design. A branch only changes state against published criteria, with advance notice, and there is always a path to ask for it back.

Actively patched Active

Full KernelCare for every in-scope CVE, on a schedule with an SLA. The default state for a distribution we onboard and keep supporting.

Paused Paused

No new patches, but existing patches remain installable and the branch stays in the active tree — so patching can resume cheaply if the situation changes.

Retired Discontinued

No new patches; existing patches remain installable, but the branch leaves the active tree — signaling no plan to resume. Triggered by a Legacy classification.

What makes a branch Legacy

  • Upstream vendor stopped updates and no update in 12 months, or
  • Updates exist but are subscription-only (ELS / ESM), the upstream longterm kernel is EOL, and no close code analog is still updated, or
  • For mainline-based kernels, the upstream stable / longterm branch is no longer supported.

Notice, cadence & asking for coverage back

📢 6-month notice
At least six months’ warning before any branch moves from Active to Paused or Discontinued.
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🗓️ Quarterly batch
Lifecycle changes are batched and announced at most once per quarter to avoid surprise churn.
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🔁 Pushback path
Rely on a paused or retired branch? Ask your Account Manager — the bar to extend or resume is intentionally low.
Check your kernel

Not sure if your kernel is covered? Run this on the server to check whether it’s supported:

On older systems without python3, use python.

$curl -s -L https://kernelcare.com/checker | python3