Impact of CentOS 8 End of Life on Azure Guest Patching Customers

Introduction: OpenLogic announced that the CentOS 8 OS images will reach end-of-life (EOL) after December 2021. This means that OpenLogic will no longer provide technical support, software updates, or security patches for this version. Customers that are leveraging the Auto VM Guest Patching or Auto OS Image Upgrade capability will need to upgrade to a supported image from OpenLogic to keep their assets secure. 

Impact on Organizations: Organizations that are still using CentOS 8 or 8-lvm images are exposing themselves to security vulnerabilities and performance issues. OpenLogic stopped publishing updates after December 2021. Customers that have enabled their VMs for Auto Guest Patching will see no action from Azure, as no new updates are available to patch their machines.  

Without further security updates, organizations risk exposing their systems and data to potential security threats. Additionally, without software updates, organizations may experience performance issues or compatibility issues as newer hardware or software is released. It is important for organizations to plan for this migration to avoid any disruption to their business operations. 

 
Potential Migration Options: Organizations have some options for dealing with the CentOS 8 end-of-life. Customers can upgrade to a supported image from CentOS. 

Newer Image: OpenLogic supports various images for customers to upgrade to. 

Customers can continue to leverage the Auto Guest Patching capability after moving to a supported image from OpenLogic. You can follow the steps in the documentation to enable the auto patching on your assets to ensure they continue to remain secure. 

 
Conclusion: OpenLogic’s EOL announcement for CentOS 8 and 8-lvm images is an important reminder for organizations to stay current with their software solutions to avoid any security or performance issues. Organizations using CentOS 8 and 8-lvm will need to plan now for an update to a supported image to avoid any future disruption to their patching mechanisms, particularly customers that leverage the Auto VM Guest Patching capabilities.