Official Apache 2.2.x EOL Timeline: Migration Strategies and Version Compatibility Analysis


2 views

The Apache Software Foundation officially announced the end-of-life (EOL) for Apache 2.2.x series on January 1, 2018. This means:

  • No further security patches will be released
  • No bug fixes for newly discovered issues
  • The codebase enters maintenance-only mode
// Sample version timeline comparison
const apacheVersions = [
  { version: '1.3', release: '1998-06', eol: '2010-02', duration: '11.7 years' },
  { version: '2.0', release: '2002-04', eol: '2013-07', duration: '11.3 years' },
  { version: '2.2', release: '2005-12', eol: '2018-01', duration: '12.1 years' },
  { version: '2.4', release: '2012-02', active: true }
];

When migrating from 2.2 to 2.4, these are the most common breaking changes:

# Apache 2.2 configuration
Order allow,deny
Allow from all

# Equivalent in Apache 2.4
Require all granted

Continuing to use Apache 2.2.x exposes your systems to:

  • Unpatched vulnerabilities like CVE-2017-3167
  • Compatibility issues with modern TLS protocols
  • Potential PCI-DSS compliance violations
  1. Test all .htaccess files with 2.4 syntax
  2. Verify third-party module compatibility
  3. Update deprecated directives in virtual hosts
  4. Benchmark performance after migration

For systems that cannot upgrade immediately:

# Consider using mod_security as temporary protection
SecRuleEngine On
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains exploit" "deny,status:403"

Apache HTTP Server 2.2.x officially reached End-of-Life (EOL) status on January 1, 2018, as confirmed by the Apache Software Foundation. This means no further security patches or bug fixes will be released for this version series.

Examining Apache's release history reveals consistent patterns:

Version  Release   EOL       Support Duration
1.3.x   1998-06   2010-02   ~11.5 years
2.0.x   2002-04   2013-07   ~11.25 years
2.2.x   2005-12   2018-01   ~12 years
2.4.x   2012-02   Active    Current stable

The 2.2.x series followed the typical 11-12 year support window observed in previous versions.

Continuing to run Apache 2.2.x exposes servers to multiple vulnerabilities:

  • CVE-2017-3167: NULL pointer dereference
  • CVE-2017-3169: mod_ssl heap buffer overflow
  • CVE-2017-7659: HTTP/2 memory corruption

A quick security check can be performed with:

httpd -v
# Sample output showing vulnerable version:
# Server version: Apache/2.2.34 (Unix)
# Server built:   Dec 7 2016

Option 1: Direct upgrade to 2.4.x

# For Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install apache2
# For RHEL/CentOS:
sudo yum install httpd

Option 2: Configuration adjustments
Many directives changed between 2.2 and 2.4:

# Old 2.2 syntax:
Order allow,deny
Allow from all

# New 2.4 syntax:
Require all granted

For systems that absolutely cannot upgrade:

  • Implement reverse proxy with nginx
  • Use mod_security with custom rules
  • Containerize legacy apps with Docker

Example Dockerfile for isolation:

FROM centos:6
RUN yum install -y httpd-2.2.34
COPY httpd.conf /etc/httpd/conf/
EXPOSE 80
CMD ["/usr/sbin/httpd", "-DFOREGROUND"]

For temporary 2.2.x deployments, implement enhanced monitoring:

# Sample Nagios check for Apache version
define command {
    command_name    check_apache_version
    command_line    /usr/lib/nagios/plugins/check_http -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -v "Server: Apache/2.2." -w 5 -c 10
}

Key references from Apache: