Who Provides Extended Support for Apache Solr 8 and Solr 9?

The short answer

For self-managed Solr 8, two providers publish patched builds: HeroDevs, for Solr and Lucene 8.11.x, and OSSeva, for Solr 6, 7 and 8 with the index format unchanged. SearchStax keeps Solr 8 running with security patching on its managed service, and Lucidworks supports the final Solr 8 release inside its Fusion platform. Perforce OpenLogic and Sease sell support and consulting for community Solr.

For Solr 9, the picture changed this week. Apache released 9.11.0 on 4 October 2026 as the last 9.x release, and its download page now lists every version below 9.11 as end of life. A cluster on 9.10 or earlier gets no further upstream fixes unless it moves to 9.11 or 10.

Which Solr versions Apache still supports

Solr's download page sets out the policy: active development on the current major, occasional critical fixes for the previous major, and nothing for anything older.

The gap is already showing. A JWT authentication advisory from May 2026 affects 9.0.0 to 9.10.1 and 10.0.0, and CVE-2026-22444 from January 2026 affects 8.6 to 9.10.0, with no Solr 8 release to fix either. The Solr end-of-life chart tracks every line, and Solr vulnerabilities by version lists what reaches each one.

Apache Solr support providers compared

Each row reflects what the provider publishes on its own site as of 6 October 2026.

Two rows are easy to misread. Lucidworks' policy describes Solr support within Fusion, so it is not a support contract for a standalone open source cluster. SearchStax patches only the clusters it runs for you, and its Extended Life phase is a separate purchase.

How the providers differ

HeroDevs

HeroDevs publishes one Solr line, 8.11.x, with Lucene bundled. If your cluster is already on 8.11, that is a direct fit, and its Never-Ending Support terms include a 14-day SLA for critical CVEs. A cluster on 8.6 or 7.x needs a move to 8.11 first. See OSSeva vs HeroDevs for the wider overlap.

SearchStax

SearchStax is the choice when you would rather not run Solr at all. Its version policy keeps a major version in Maintenance Support for up to 24 months after Apache retires it, then offers Extended Life for up to 36 more months with critical and high-priority fixes and security patching. For Solr 8, that runs from the October 2024 end-of-life date.

Lucidworks

Lucidworks builds Fusion on Solr and supports the Solr versions inside it on a rolling three-major policy. If you already run Fusion, that answers the Solr 8 question for you. It is not a route for a standalone SolrCloud cluster.

OpenLogic and Sease

OpenLogic lists Solr among more than 400 supported technologies, so one contract can cover search along with the rest of the estate. Sease is a search specialist: audits, relevance work, upgrades between Solr versions and migrations from other engines, with a Solr PMC member as director. Neither publishes patched builds for end-of-life Solr. Our OSSeva vs OpenLogic comparison covers OpenLogic in more depth.

OSSeva

OSSeva for Apache Solr ships patched builds on the line you already run, so the Lucene index format, schema and analyser chain stay as they are and no reindex is needed to get the fix. Coverage includes the bundled Lucene, Jetty and ZooKeeper client, and the ZooKeeper ensemble behind SolrCloud is patched under the same engagement. Assure adds a handler exposure audit, a schema and analyser deprecation inventory for 9.x and 10.x, and a reindex and relevance regression plan; Operate adds 24/7 shard and replica monitoring, a 15-minute P1 response and upgrade execution with a parallel-index cutover. Pricing is per cluster, not per node, core or document.

How to choose

A Solr major upgrade is a reindex plus a relevance regression cycle, and Solr 10 also requires Java 21. Our Solr 8 to 9 upgrade guide covers the steps, and Solr extended support past EOL covers running the upgrade without rushing search quality.

Where OSSeva fits

OSSeva patches Solr 6, 7 and 8 and the ZooKeeper beneath SolrCloud, with signed builds that keep the index you have. See the extended support vendor roundup for how OSSeva compares across other technologies.

Frequently asked questions

Who provides extended support for Apache Solr 8?

For self-managed clusters, HeroDevs patches Solr and Lucene 8.11.x and OSSeva patches Solr 6, 7 and 8. SearchStax extends Solr 8 on its managed service, and Lucidworks supports the final Solr 8 release inside Fusion. OpenLogic and Sease offer support and consulting without patched builds.

Is Solr 9 end of life?

Mostly. Apache now lists every version below 9.11 as end of life and calls 9.11.0, released on 4 October 2026, the last 9.x release. The 9.11 line may still get occasional critical fixes, while feature work happens on Solr 10.

Is Solr 8.11 still getting security fixes?

Not from Apache. Solr 8.11.4 was the last release, and the Solr PMC announced end of life on 25 October 2024. Fixes for 8.11 now come from vendors such as HeroDevs and OSSeva.

Can I patch Solr 8 without reindexing?

Yes, with a patched build on the same line. A backported 8.x build keeps the Lucene index format, so it drops onto the same data directory. Reindexing is needed only when you move to a new major version.

Should we upgrade to Solr 9 or Solr 10?

From Solr 8, 9.11 is usually the shorter step, since Solr 10 also requires Java 21. With 9.x now in its final line, plan the move to 10 as the next project rather than a distant one.