end-of-life.org

Perl 5.42 End of Life

Support dates and upgrade guidance — rebuilt from live data.

Supported

Perl 5.42 is actively supported. It reaches end of life on 3 Jul 2028.

694 days of security support left
5.42.3 latest release
37% of this branch's supported lifetime has elapsed — 3 Jul 2025 → 3 Jul 2028.
Check your versionperl -v

Support timeline

Official dates from the Perl release process.

MilestoneDateStatus
Initial release3 Jul 2025
End of life (scheduled)3 Jul 2028 in 694 days
Latest release5.42.3 · 2 Aug 2026 current

How much runway a newer branch buys

Moving to Perl 5.44 extends security support by about 377 days.

BranchEnd of lifeDays leftvs 5.42
Perl 5.44 15 Jul 2029 1,071 +377 days
Perl 5.42 3 Jul 2028 694 this branch
Perl 5.40 9 Jun 2027 304 -390 days

Frequently asked questions

When does Perl 5.42 reach end of life?

Perl 5.42 reaches end of life on 3 Jul 2028 — 694 days from now. After that date it receives no security fixes.

Is Perl 5.42 still supported?

Yes. Perl 5.42 is currently maintained. Latest release: 5.42.3, published 2 Aug 2026.

What happens when Perl 5.42 reaches end of life?

Security fixes stop. After 3 Jul 2028 this branch receives no further updates under standard support.

How long do I have to upgrade from Perl 5.42?

694 days. Moving to Perl 5.44 instead buys roughly 377 more days of security support.

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