Security Support for Debian 5.0 terminated

February 9th, 2012

Security Support for Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 terminated on February 6th

One year after the release of Debian 6.0 alias Squeeze and nearly three years after the release of Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 alias Lenny the security support for the old distribution (5.0 alias Lenny ) came to an end a few days ago. The Debian project is proud to have been able to support its old distribution for such a long time and even for one year after a new version has been released.

The Debian project released Debian 6.0 alias Squeeze on the 6th of February 2011. Users and distributors have been given a one-year timeframe to upgrade their old installations to the current stable release. Hence, the security support for the old release of 5.0 ended on the 6th of February 2012 as previously announced.

Previously announced security updates for the old release will continue to be available on security.debian.org.

Security Updates

The Debian Security Team provides security updates for the current distribution via <http://security.debian.org/>. Security updates for the old distribution are also provided for one year after the new distribution has been released or until the current distribution is superseded, whatever happens first.

Upgrading to Debian 6.0 alias Squeeze

Upgrades to Debian 6.0 from the previous release, Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 alias Lenny , are automatically handled by the apt-get package management tool for most configurations, and to a certain degree also by the aptitude package management tool. As always, Debian GNU/Linux systems can be upgraded painlessly, in place, without any forced downtime, but it is strongly recommended to read the release notes for possible issues, and for detailed instructions on installing and upgrading.

About Debian

Debian is a free operating system, developed by more than thousand volunteers from all over the world who collaborate via the Internet. Debian's dedication to Free Software, its non-profit nature, and its open development model make it unique among GNU/Linux distributions.

The Debian project's key strengths are its volunteer base, its dedication to the Debian Social Contract, and its commitment to provide the best operating system possible. Debian 6.0 is another important step in that direction.

Contact Information

For further information, please visit the Debian web pages at https://www.debian.org/ or send mail to <press@debian.org>.