Linux 7.3 Selected as Next Long-Term Support Kernel Release
Linux 7.3 will serve as the next long-term support kernel instead of 7.4 after maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman cited concerns over late changes in the 7.4 cycle.
Linux 7.3 is expected to be the next long-term support kernel instead of 7.4, according to stable kernel branches maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman. In a message to the kernel mailing list, Kroah-Hartman explained that attempts to push late changes into 7.4 provide a good reason to exclude that release from LTS consideration, noting that similar situations in the past caused the project to suffer greatly.
Kroah-Hartman previously assumed 7.4 would ship in the first week of January if the minus-rc1 cycle ran three weeks, planning for 7.3 to hold the LTS designation while stating 7.4.0 would have landed on the 27th under ideal conditions. However, release scripts display a modified schedule where the 7.4 merge window opened on 2026-10-19 and closed on 2026-11-01, matching the date of 7.4-rc1. These scripts currently list the final 7.4 release for 2026-12-20.
Unless something really crazy emerges to prevent it, developers and vendors planning around a long-term base should count on 7.3.y as the next LTS series, while the 7.4 release remains on track for December.