On May 29, 2025, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) officially transitioned from its standard support phase to Extended Security Maintenance. After five years of active support, Canonical has ceased accepting package updates into the primary archive for Ubuntu 20.04, signaling the end of standard security updates and bug fixes for this version.
Ubuntu 20.04 was initially released on March 23, 2020, and, like previous LTS releases, it benefited from a full five years of standard support. Now, as the standard support window closes, users still running Focal Fossa have options to maintain system security without immediate upgrades.
For those who (for some reason) cannot yet transition to newer releases, Canonical offers Extended Security Maintenance through its Ubuntu Pro subscription. It is free for personal use on up to five physical machines.
Additionally, active Ubuntu Community members are eligible for a free subscription on up to 50 physical machines. This free tier includes access to security updates for both the Main and Universe repositories, kernel livepatching, and compliance tools.
In other words, by subscribing to Ubuntu Pro, your 20.04 systems will receive essential security patches and critical updates beyond the standard support timeline for another +5 years, extending the distribution’s life to 10 years.
Despite this, however, users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS as the supported intermediary step before moving to the latest Ubuntu 24.04 LTS release. Both of these newer versions remain under active maintenance and receive regular security updates and bug fixes.
If you’re unsure how to handle the upgrade—no worries, we’ve got you covered. Check out our guide for upgrading from 20.04 LTS to 22.04 LTS, and when you’re ready, here’s the one for the next step: going from 22.04 LTS to 24.04 LTS.
For more information about Extended Security Maintenance, visit the official Ubuntu documentation.
You stated: “In other words, by subscribing to Ubuntu Pro, your 20.04 systems will receive essential security patches and critical updates beyond the standard support timeline for another +5 years, extending the distribution’s life to 10 years.”
Not correct. Canonical announced on 3/26/24 that it had added an additional 2 years to Ubuntu Pro for a total of 12 years of extra support, not 10 years. I have Ubuntu Pro on 3 of my 5 laptops!
distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=17603
Yes, you’re right about those extra two years (11 and 12), but in my understanding, legacy support is strictly for paying support customers. In other words, the Legacy add-on is not included in the free-for-personal-use Pro license on up to five machines.