Amazon Linux 2 stopped receiving standard security updates on June 30, 2026, but it is still inside EC2 fleets, ECS and Batch compute environments, old EKS node groups, retired Elastic Beanstalk platforms, Lambda runtimes and container base images. Where to look, the Lambda dates that matter (Python 3.10 deprecates on October 31), and what changes moving to AL2023.
Amazon Linux 2 reached end of support on June 30, 2026. Since then it receives no standard security updates, and AWS's advice is to move to Amazon Linux 2023, which is supported until June 2029. Nothing stops running when an operating system goes out of support: that is the problem. Every vulnerability found from July onward stays open on every AL2 machine, and nobody gets an alert saying so.
AL2 is rarely just the EC2 instances you launched yourself. It is underneath managed services, inside container images, and in Lambda runtimes, and each of those has its own schedule. Here is where to look.
From the Amazon Linux 2 FAQ and the ECS, Batch, EKS, Elastic Beanstalk and Lambda documentation, October 2026.
Book a free 30-minute call. You'll leave knowing what we'd do first and roughly what it costs, whether or not you hire us.
Lambda kept its AL2-based runtimes patched past June for critical and selected important issues, but only until each runtime is deprecated. Deprecated means no more patches and no support; functions keep running, and you can still deploy them for a while longer through the CLI, SAM or CloudFormation.
From the Lambda runtimes page, October 2026. Node.js 26 and Python 3.15 are in preview, with general availability targeted for November 2026.
To find them: Trusted Advisor's check for Lambda functions using deprecated runtimes lists every affected version, and the Health Dashboard lists the $LATEST versions affected. Container-image functions are the exception — Lambda sends no deprecation notices for them, so check the base images in your Dockerfiles yourself.
dnf replaces yum as the package manager (yum still works as an alias), and amazon-linux-extras is gone — packages that came from it come from the main repositories or are installed another way.
EPEL is not supported, so anything you pulled from it needs a new source.
Instances launched from AL2023 images require IMDSv2 by default, so old scripts or SDKs that call the metadata service without a token stop working — which is the right outcome, but test it.
cgroup v2 is the default, which matters for older container runtimes and monitoring agents.
There is no in-place upgrade path from AL2. Rebuild from configuration — which is the moment to fix whatever was only ever set up by hand.
EC2: list instances with the image each launched from, and flag image names starting amzn2-ami; Systems Manager Inventory gives the OS version directly where the agent runs.
ECS, Batch and EKS: check the AMI in every launch template, capacity provider and node group — AWS Health planned lifecycle events list affected Batch and ECS resources.
Elastic Beanstalk: any environment on a platform branch whose name includes Amazon Linux 2 rather than AL2023.
Lambda: Trusted Advisor for zip-packaged functions, and a search of your Dockerfiles and ECR images for amazonlinux:2 and AL2 base images.
CI: build agents and AMI pipelines are easy to miss and run with credentials that matter.
Once a month: what changed in tech that month and what it means for you, from cloud and AI to security and the tools you build with. Every item links to its source. No sales pitch, unsubscribe in one click.
Book a free 30-minute call about it. Bring your setup and your bill; you'll leave knowing what we'd do first and roughly what it costs, whether or not you hire us.
Or keep reading
Elastic Beanstalk Retired Every Amazon Linux 2 Platform in August 2026: AL2023 or ECS?
On August 6, 2026 Elastic Beanstalk retired all remaining Amazon Linux 2 platform branches (Docker, Go, Corretto 8, 11 and 17, Tomcat 9, .NET Core), following AL2's end of life. Node.js 20, Python 3.9 and Ruby 3.2 on AL2023 went a week later. How to move to an AL2023 branch with a blue/green swap, and when to leave Beanstalk for ECS.
Read
AWS in 2027: Every Deadline Already on the Calendar
Lambda's update block, EKS versions, RDS Extended Support price steps, Bedrock model retirements, the end of Python 3.11, Node.js 22 and PHP 8.3, and the EU's Cyber Resilience Act and AI Act dates: every 2027 deadline we could verify, month by month, with what each costs if missed.
Read
As of October 25, 2026. Provided as is, for general information, and accurate to the best of our knowledge on the date shown. Not legal, compliance, tax, financial or other professional advice. Prices, limits and vendor services change; check current vendor documentation before relying on anything here. Terms of use.