Cloudera CDH 6 end of life
Cloudera CDH 6 reached end of support in March 2022, when CDH 6.2 and 6.3 left Cloudera's support lifecycle. The final release was CDH 6.3.4, and limited support for eligible customers ended on 30 September 2022. Every CDH 6.3 release ships Apache ZooKeeper 3.4.5, a line the ZooKeeper project stopped patching on 1 June 2020.
- End of life
- March 2022
- Released
- Aug 2018
- Final release
- 6.3.4
- Successor
- Cloudera on premises 7.1.9 or 7.3.x (formerly CDP Private Cloud Base)
Date published by Cloudera support lifecycle policy. We do not publish a lifecycle date we cannot source.
What actually stops on March 2022
- Cloudera maintenance releases and fixes for CDH 6. CDH 6.3.4 was the last release.
- Security fixes for the Apache components CDH 6.3 packages, including Hadoop 3.0.0, HBase 2.1.4, Hive 2.1.1, Kafka 2.2.1, Solr 7.4.0, Spark 2.4.0 and ZooKeeper 3.4.5.
- Fixes for ZooKeeper advisories published after March 2022. CVE-2023-44981, the SASL quorum authentication bypass published in October 2023, has no fix on the 3.4 line.
What actually breaks in the upgrade
The platform moves as one piece
Leaving CDH 6 for Cloudera on premises upgrades every component at once. Release 7.1.9 ships Kafka 3.4.1, Solr 8.11.2 and ZooKeeper 3.8.1 builds alongside new HBase and Hive builds, so each engine's own upgrade notes land in the same change window as the platform move.
The ZooKeeper under CDH is the part nobody lists
HDFS automatic failover and YARN ResourceManager HA both run on ZooKeeper, HBase cannot start without it, and HiveServer2 uses it for service discovery. On CDH 6 that is ZooKeeper 3.4.5, and the jump to a 3.8 build touches every client that registers with the ensemble, including applications outside the Hadoop stack.
Pick the target by its support date
Cloudera lists end of support for 7.1.9 in October 2028 and for 7.3.2 in March 2032. The 7.1.x releases before 7.1.9 are already past end of support, so a move to one of them buys very little time.
Your options, costed honestly
Including the ones that do not involve buying anything from us.
| Option | What it is | Effort | Cost | Our view |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upgrade to Cloudera on premises | Cloudera's current platform, with its own ZooKeeper 3.8 builds. | Quarters | Cloudera subscription plus migration effort | The vendor path, and the natural choice when the subscription is already budgeted. |
| Move to upstream Apache releases | Replace CDH with current Apache Hadoop, HBase, Hive and ZooKeeper. | Quarters to years | Engineering time | Removes the vendor dependency, and you own the integration and testing from then on. |
| OSSeva extended support on CDH 6 | Patched builds for the CDH 6 components and the ZooKeeper ensemble under them. | Days | Subscription | Keeps the cluster patched and auditable while the platform decision is made. |
What OSSeva does for Cloudera CDH 6
OSSeva patches this line
OSSeva patches CDH 6 now. Signed builds cover the Hadoop, HBase, Hive and Kafka components CDH 6.3 ships and the ZooKeeper 3.4 ensemble under them, on the Patch, Assure and Operate tiers, with VEX attestation that shows auditors which ZooKeeper CVEs apply.
Apache Hadoop extended supportWhat your auditor will say
Every system component that stores or processes cardholder data needs its applicable security patches. On a data platform that includes the ZooKeeper ensemble the cluster depends on, not only the query engines people see.
Auditors ask for evidence that production systems receive security fixes. A platform past its end of support fails that test unless another supplier ships the fixes and can show which CVEs they close.
Cloudera CDH 6: common questions
When did Cloudera CDH 6 reach end of support?
CDH 6.2 and 6.3 reached end of support in March 2022, CDH 6.1 in December 2021 and CDH 6.0 in August 2021. Limited support for eligible 6.2 and 6.3 customers ran from 1 April to 30 September 2022.
Which ZooKeeper version does CDH 6 use?
ZooKeeper 3.4.5, from CDH 6.0 through 6.3.4. The Apache 3.4 line reached end of life on 1 June 2020 and has no fix for CVE-2023-44981, which applies when quorum SASL authentication is enabled.
What replaced CDH 6?
Cloudera on premises, formerly CDP Private Cloud Base. Release 7.1.9 is supported until October 2028 and 7.3.2 until March 2032.
Can CDH 6 stay patched without a platform upgrade?
Yes. OSSeva ships patched builds for the CDH 6 components and the ZooKeeper under them, so the cluster stays on CDH 6 while the move to Cloudera on premises or to upstream Apache releases is planned.
Still running Cloudera CDH 6?
Tell us the versions and the estate size. We will tell you honestly whether to upgrade or to buy cover — and we say 'upgrade' more often than you would expect.