Beginning in April 2026, HashiCorp’s self-managed Enterprise products will adopt new version, release and support models. All enterprise self-managed products will target two feature releases per year (Spring and Fall) with monthly security patches as needed. These updates align with IBM’s enterprise software lifecycle to ensure consistent support across IBM’s software portfolio.
The changes affect self-managed Enterprise products only. HashiCorp Cloud Platform (HCP) offerings have separate release and support lifecycle. Existing legacy Long Term Support entitlements remain in effect until the versions reach end-of-life.
For more information, about IBM’s Support Lifecycle policy, visit this link or contact your HashiCorp account representative. Read below to find more information about what these changes mean to you:
Key Changes
Versioning Alignment with IBM’s VMF Model
HashiCorp’s existing semantic versioning format (X.Y.Z) will be mapped to IBM’s Version–Modification–Fix (V.M.F) model. This mapping helps make lifecycle timing clear and consistent across products.
| Field | Description |
| V | Version milestone (e.g., major feature release) |
| M | Modification (e.g., additional feature update) |
| F | Fix or patch (e.g., monthly security release) |
Developer-facing version numbers will remain familiar. Public documentation will show the VMF mapping so customers can plan around lifecycle milestones. No customer action is required.
Predictable Twice-Yearly Feature Releases
Starting April, 2026, all self-managed Enterprise products will follow a twice-yearly feature release cadence:
| Release | Timing |
| April (“V” milestone) | Starts a new support lifecycle for that version. |
| October (“M” milestone) | Adds new features but does not start a new lifecycle. |
| Monthly (“F” fixes) | Security patches addressing high or critical CVEs. |
This structure creates a predictable schedule for planning upgrades and lifecycle management.
Support Cycle 2 (SC2) Adoption
All self-managed Enterprise products will move to IBM’s SC2 support model, providing up to six years of lifecycle coverage for each April (V) release.
| Support Stage | Duration | Coverage |
| Base Support | Years 1 & 2 | Full defect and non-defect support, access to new releases and security updates. |
| Extended Support (optional purchase) | Year 3 | Critical bug fixes, usage support, and select security fixes. |
| Ongoing Extended Support | Years 4–6 | Usage and known issue support. No new fixes or enhancements. |
This model replaces previous support timelines to align with IBM’s standardized framework.
Retirement of Long-Term Support (LTS)
HashiCorp’s Long-Term Support (LTS) designations will be retired. Future support coverage will follow the SC2 framework to ensure consistent definitions and timeframes across all self-managed Enterprise products.
Product-Specific Details
The first versions for each product that fall under the new support policy are
- Terraform Self-Managed 2.0.0
- Vault Self-Managed 2.0.0
- Consul Self-Managed 2.0.0
- Nomad Self-Managed 2.0.0
- Boundary Self-Managed 1.0.0
Additional information
Past and upcoming release information as well as continuous updated information will be available in each product’s release notes:
- Terraform Self-Managed
- Vault Self-Managed
- Nomad Self-Managed
- Consul Self-Managed
- Boundary Self-Managed