Go 1.16 End of Life
Support dates, vulnerabilities published since end of life, and upgrade guidance — rebuilt from live data.
Go 1.16 reached end of life on 15 Mar 2022. It no longer receives security fixes.
Support timeline
Official dates from the Go release process.
| Milestone | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Initial release | 16 Feb 2021 | — |
| End of life | 15 Mar 2022 | 4.4 years ago |
| Latest release | 1.16.15 · 3 Mar 2022 | final |
The cost of staying: CVEs since end of life
111 Go vulnerabilities have been published since 15 Mar 2022. All were fixed in supported branches — 1.16 received none of them. Source: NVD.
Go CVEs published since 1.16's EOL, by year
10 of the 111 are rated critical · data refreshed 2026-08-09
Published 5 Feb 2026 · rated critical — fixed in supported branches only, never in 1.16. Details
Published 6 Apr 2023 · rated critical — fixed in supported branches only, never in 1.16. Details
Published 11 May 2023 · rated critical — fixed in supported branches only, never in 1.16. Details
Where to go from 1.16
Recommended target: Go 1.26.
The newest actively supported branch is Go 1.26 (latest release 1.26.5). Review go.dev before upgrading.
Frequently asked questions
Is Go 1.16 still safe to use?
No. Go 1.16 stopped receiving security fixes on 15 Mar 2022. Since then, 111 Go vulnerabilities have been published and fixed in supported branches — Go 1.16 received none of those fixes.
Can I still download Go 1.16?
Yes — the final release (1.16.15) generally remains available from vendor archives and OS package mirrors, but installing it means running software with known, unpatched vulnerabilities.
What should I upgrade Go 1.16 to?
Upgrade to Go 1.26, the newest actively supported branch.