amazon linux 2 reaches end of support

what happened

• AWS states that Amazon Linux 2 reached its end of support on 2026-06-30 and is no longer receiving standard security updates.[1]
• AWS recommends moving to Amazon Linux 2023 now rather than waiting for a later release. AL2023 is supported until June 2029.[1]
• AL2023 does not include amazon-linux-extras, which AWS says is end-of-life. Instead it provides namespaced packages, and its base package versions might be later than those from amazon-linux-extras.[2]
• cron is not installed by default on AL2023, and AWS suggests moving cron jobs to systemd timers while still on AL2. Some workloads may also need changes, such as moving Python 2.7 scripts to Python 3.[2]
• Lambda runtimes built on AL2 (Java 8/11/17 AL2, Python 3.10, Python 3.11 and provided.al2) keep getting patches for critical and selected important AL2 security issues until their own deprecation dates. AWS recommends upgrading to an AL2023-based runtime as soon as possible.[3]
• AWS lists the provided.al2 Lambda runtime as deprecated on July 31, 2026 and schedules the python3.10 runtime's deprecation for October 31, 2026.[3]