MySQL 5.5 End of Life
Support dates, vulnerabilities published since end of life, and upgrade guidance — rebuilt from live data.
MySQL 5.5 reached end of life on 31 Dec 2018. It no longer receives security fixes.
Support timeline
Official dates from the MySQL release process.
| Milestone | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Initial release | 3 Dec 2010 | — |
| End of life | 31 Dec 2018 | 7.6 years ago |
| Active support ended | 31 Dec 2015 | security fixes only after this |
| Latest release | 5.5.63 · 21 Dec 2018 | final |
The cost of staying: CVEs since end of life
661 MySQL vulnerabilities have been published since 31 Dec 2018. All were fixed in supported branches — 5.5 received none of them. Source: NVD.
MySQL CVEs published since 5.5's EOL, by year
2 of the 661 are rated critical · data refreshed 2026-08-09
Published 15 Sept 2019 · rated critical — fixed in supported branches only, never in 5.5. Details
Published 9 Apr 2020 · rated critical — fixed in supported branches only, never in 5.5. Details
Published 21 Oct 2020 · rated high — fixed in supported branches only, never in 5.5. Details
Where to go from 5.5
Recommended target: MySQL 9.7 (supported until 21 Apr 2034).
The newest actively supported branch is MySQL 9.7 (latest release 9.7.2). Review dev.mysql.com before upgrading.
Frequently asked questions
Is MySQL 5.5 still safe to use?
No. MySQL 5.5 stopped receiving security fixes on 31 Dec 2018. Since then, 661 MySQL vulnerabilities have been published and fixed in supported branches — MySQL 5.5 received none of those fixes.
Can I still download MySQL 5.5?
Yes — the final release (5.5.63) generally remains available from vendor archives and OS package mirrors, but installing it means running software with known, unpatched vulnerabilities.
What should I upgrade MySQL 5.5 to?
Upgrade to MySQL 9.7, the newest actively supported branch (supported until 21 Apr 2034).