0

My way to get Ubuntu-Mate 24.04. I have a Dual boot system. With the Ubuntu-Mate 24.04 Distro it was not possible to replace a former used Ubuntu Version by Ubuntu-Mate (I did denied expert modus). Therefore I did use the 22.04 Mate-Distro, to replace my former Ubuntu. After installation, I did update my system with the latest 22.04 packets. And via :

sudo do-release-upgrade

I got Ubuntu-Mate 24.04 ?!

I still have the Ubuntu-Mate desktop, but cat shows me something else :

cat /etc/os-release
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION_ID="24.04"
VERSION="24.04.4 LTS (Noble Numbat)"
VERSION_CODENAME=noble
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
UBUNTU_CODENAME=noble
LOGO=ubuntu-logo

The Mate-LTS ends with 27.04.

I expect with :

sudo do-release-upgrade

I will get a LTS-26.04.

My favourite, to stay with the Mate Desktop, which problems could I have after 27.04 in respect to security updates ?

Improve this question
15
  • 1
    Assuming that Ubuntu Mate 26.04 will not be LTS, you may have to go to the STS channel. That is, in March of 2027 (before Ubuntu Mate 24.04 expires) upgrade to the then current Ubuntu Mate, 26.10. Then in a few months upgrade to Ubuntu Mate 27.04. and later to 27.10, 28.04 etc. This is my personal opinion. Commented Apr 5 at 19:10
  • 2
    FYI: there is no MATE 26.04 release planned. They did not meet requisite deadlines and requirements for a flavor release. (I know this as a Tech Board member and my own inquiries with the Release Team) Commented Apr 5 at 20:40
  • 1
    Ubuntu MATE Discourse is closing down as well (ubuntu-mate.community/t/…) which will be only days after the release of Ubuntu 26.04, with it talked about a lot on that site. They are seeking a new developer team (discourse.ubuntu.com/t/ubuntu-mate-seeking-maintainers/79264/15). As I've said many times (of late on Ubuntu MATE Discourse), a Ubuntu MATE system is still a Ubuntu system. There is still hope for a Ubuntu MATE 26.10 release, but only time will tell. Commented Apr 5 at 21:27
  • 1
    The MATE desktop & packages are not covered by ESM, as they're maintained by the Ubuntu MATE team which is lacking maintainers, as indicated by the lack of 26.04 release... In theory the MATE desktop will be supported & have fixes until it reaches EOL which was three years after LTS release! but its possible other MOTUs could upload fixes for the entire five years. As for ESM fixes; they don't include everything, and you need to read the security notices, as some fixes are provided only via snap packages; ie. expect to replace deb with snap at EOSS as with 14.04, 16.04, 18.04 & 20.04 Commented Apr 5 at 21:31
  • 1
    This topic has been covered in many threads on Ubuntu Discourse, from ubuntu-mate.community/t/support-of-ubuntu-pro-users/31355 to ubuntu-mate.community/t/… ubuntu-mate.community/t/… and more - have you looked? Of course the Ubuntu Security notices of prior LTS releases (just before, or around the time of EOSS is when they're usually published) is a clue as to what happens at EOSS (ie. end of 5 years for LTS) Commented Apr 5 at 21:36

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
6

I'm going to answer this a little differently than karel or others, because I have some extra insights into things.

So, some early disclaimers: At the time of this post, I sit on the Ubuntu Community Council, the Ubuntu Technical Board, I have Ubuntu Core Developer status, and have extra insight to things that're going on behind the scenes with different releases.

I am also a CISSP-certified IT Security Professional and certified linux systems administrator (and am considered a Subject Matter Expert by the Ubuntu Training teams who produce certification tests, exams, etc. currently).

I also implore you to read through this related post on my blog - "Ubuntu, Ubuntu Flavors, and Ubuntu Pro: General Overviews" - which will provide additional explanations and insights beyond what I wrote here that may better help you understand the differences between Ubuntu, Ubuntu Flavors, and Ubuntu Pro.

So, let's start with this big question first: Is there going to be an Ubuntu MATE 26.04 LTS release?

The answer to this one is no. I have it on good authority from the Ubuntu Release Team that Ubuntu MATE will NOT have a 26.04 release, LTS or otherwise. The MATE team has consistently missed critical deadlines and not shown the level of development support activity necessary to meet the requirements to make any official release of ISOs for that Flavor. Therefore, Ubuntu MATE will not have a 26.04 release.

This leads to another question: Does that mean I am losing my Desktop Environment or Patches for my Software?

The answer to this is also no. While the MATE flavor is not making a release of its flavor with official installer media or ISOs, the packages they ship are still in the Ubuntu repositories. You can still upgrade readily from Ubuntu MATE 24.04 LTS to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS with the do-release-upgrade tool after Ubuntu 26.04 releases it's first point release (26.04.1). You will still get any updates and upgrades in turn that happened to your environment between 24.04 and 26.04 and any security patches that may have been made available in the intervening time periods.

And the next big one: If a Flavor does not release, am I still going to be secure?

The answer is a little less concrete, but is "It depends." The reason for this are two-fold:

  1. Without a Flavor team to provide support, desktop environments and chosen packages for installation in the flavor's package set that differ from standard Ubuntu package sets will not be given dedicated or special attention. This includes Security patches for those components, but patches can still be submitted from the Community and then reviewed by the Ubuntu Security Team in accordance with their policies.

  2. Core components of Ubuntu like C libraries, Python libraries, SSL libraries, the Kernel, etc. will still receive separate support from the Ubuntu Security Team in accordance with their policies.

Does Pro improve my security beyond the lifeline of my Flavor's support period?

Not necessarily. In my experience as a sysadmin and a Security professional, you should only rely on Pro and ESM support for an LTS beyond the standard support period of an operating system if your business use cases and such demand it, such as for temporary lifeline support for legacy software platforms, etc.

You should NOT consider Pro as a 'guarantee' to get support beyond End of Standard Support. It does NOT guarantee patches for everything except the underlying core Ubuntu components like SSH libraires, OpenSSL libraries, C libraries, etc.

It does NOT make you more or less secure.

Improve this answer
5
  • 2
    Brilliant, especially the last part. The whole situation is sad. I was expecting it to not have a flavor LTS status but now I understand it's even worse than that. Back in January I've upgraded a non-important Ubuntu MATE 25.10 to the development release and all is fine at the first glance, using it sporadically to run an old HP Slim in an external SSD caddy. Commented Apr 5 at 23:33
  • In your blog there is "so LXQt bugs, etc. won’t necessarily get direct critical attention or fixing in 24.04 after April 2024". Should that be April 2027? I'm not sure if that is a typo for the year, of if I have just misunderstood the blog. Commented Apr 6 at 7:34
  • @ChesterGillon That is a typo I will fix soon (middle of the night and I need at least a few more hours sleep first before the day) Commented Apr 6 at 8:43
  • @Thomas Ward, your estimate, used compiled sources : ffmpeg, vmaf, vivictpp. All in respect to video. Could this lead to a security problem ? I think not, but is it possible that the data base, e.g.universe denied sometimes my request to update. I have an on top running system, never change a running system ! Commented Apr 7 at 20:49
  • @Gloster unless you recompile and upgrade every single patch that comes out every single time yourself, you may be less secure. You don't state what 'denied' means in this case, and usually specific patches get accepted but not full version updates (read askubuntu.com/questions/151283/…). So it's not possible to really answer without all the details and I can only make guessed asumptions. And "on top of running systems" is identical to "in a running system" effectively. Commented Apr 8 at 4:07

You must log in to answer this question.

Start asking to get answers

Find the answer to your question by asking.

Ask question

Explore related questions

See similar questions with these tags.