Canonical Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Reaching End of Standard Support

We’re announcing the upcoming end of standard support for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) on 31 May 2025, as we focus on delivering a more secure and optimized Linux experience.  Originally released in April 2020, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS introduced key enhancements like improved UEFI Secure Boot and broader Kernel Livepatch coverage, strengthening security on Azure.

You can continue using your existing virtual machines, but after this date, security, features, and maintenance updates will no longer be provided by Canonical, which may impact system security and reliability.

Recommended action:

It’s important to act before 31 May 2025 to ensure you’re on a supported operating system. Microsoft recommends either migrating to the next Ubuntu LTS release or upgrading to Ubuntu Pro to gain access to expanded security and maintenance from Canonical.  

Upgrading to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or Ubuntu 24.04  LTS

Transitioning to the latest operating system, such as Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, is important for performance, hardware enablement, new technology benefits, and is recommended for new instances. It may be a complex process for existing deployments and should be properly scoped and tested with your workloads.  

While there’s no direct upgrade path from Ubuntu 20.04 LTS to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, you can directly upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, and then to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, or directly install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.   

See the Ubuntu Server upgrade guide for more information. 

Ubuntu Pro – Expanded Security Maintenance to 2030 

Ubuntu Pro includes security patching for all Ubuntu packages due to Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) for Infrastructure and Applications and optional 24/7 phone and ticket support. Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS will remain fully supported until May 2030. 

New virtual machines can be deployed with Ubuntu Pro from the Azure Marketplace. You can also upgrade existing virtual machines to Ubuntu Pro by in-place upgrades via Azure CLI.

More Information 

More information covering Ubuntu 20.04 LTS End of Standard Support can be found here. 

Refer to the documentation to learn more about handling Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on Azure. You can also check out Canonical’s blog post and watch the webinar here.