Dear Team, We have noticed that Apache Fineract 1.15.0 is now marked as End of Life (EOL) on the official Apache Fineract website, while version 1.16.1 is listed as the current stable release (https://fineract.apache.org/)
Since we are currently running Fineract 1.15.0 in our production CBS environment, we would like to understand the implications of this EOL status and evaluate the upgrade to version 1.16.1. We would appreciate clarification on the following points: EOL and Production Support: What does EOL specifically mean for Fineract 1.15.0? Does it mean that no further bug fixes, security patches, stability improvements or maintenance releases will be provided for this version? Security Updates: Will security vulnerabilities identified in Fineract 1.15.0 be addressed through subsequent patch releases, or are security fixes available only by upgrading to a newer release? We noticed that the official security reports list vulnerabilities affecting 1.15.0 and earlier versions, with fixes included in 1.16.1. LTS or Maintenance Release Strategy: Does Apache Fineract follow a Long-Term Support (LTS) model similar to enterprise Linux distributions, where a particular release receives security updates and critical bug fixes for an extended period? Or is the project following a regular release cycle in which older versions become unsupported once newer versions are released? Upgrade Considerations: What are the major changes and potential compatibility considerations when upgrading from Fineract 1.15.0 to 1.16.1, particularly regarding Java 25, Spring Boot 4, database migrations, custom plugins and existing API integrations? Recommended Production Strategy: For institutions running Fineract in production, what is the recommended approach to managing upgrades, security patches and version compatibility without introducing unnecessary risks to the CBS environment? As Apache Fineract is being used as the core banking platform in our production environment, long-term stability, security maintenance and predictable upgrade cycles are particularly important to us. We would appreciate your guidance on the recommended upgrade strategy and whether there are any plans to introduce LTS releases or extended maintenance support for production deployments. Thank you, and we look forward to your clarification. Best regards, Kaushal
