RabbitMQ 3.11 end of life
RabbitMQ 3.11 reached end of community support on 30 June 2023, and Broadcom's commercial support for it ended on 30 June 2024. The last public release was 3.11.28, published on 22 December 2023. The line runs only on Erlang/OTP 25, which is also out of support. OSSeva ships patched, signed RabbitMQ 3.11 builds today for clusters that cannot move yet.
- End of life
- 30 June 2023
- Released
- Sept 2022
- Final release
- 3.11.28
- Successor
- RabbitMQ 4.3, via 3.12 and 3.13
Date published by RabbitMQ release information. We do not publish a lifecycle date we cannot source.
Last reviewed
What actually stops on 30 June 2023
- Public patch releases on the 3.11.x line. 3.11.28 was the last.
- Commercial support from Broadcom, which ended on 30 June 2024.
- Erlang runtime updates. RabbitMQ 3.11 supports Erlang/OTP 25.0 to 25.3.x only, and Erlang patches just its three newest releases, now OTP 27, 28 and 29.
What actually breaks in the upgrade
Three hops to reach 4.x
Rolling upgrades move one release series at a time: 3.11.18 or later to 3.12, then 3.12 to 3.13, then 3.13 to 4.x. RabbitMQ's upgrade guide says every feature flag must be enabled before the move to 3.12, or the upgrade fails. A Blue/Green deployment to a new cluster replaces the chain with one migration.
Erlang changes at every step
3.11 runs on OTP 25 and 3.13 on OTP 26, so each hop moves the runtime as well as the broker. From Erlang 26, TLS client peer verification is on by default. TLS-enabled Shovels, Federation links and LDAP connections with no client certificate configured stop working until that is fixed.
Mirrored queues end at 4.0
RabbitMQ 4.0 removed classic queue mirroring completely. A 3.11 cluster that relies on mirrored classic queues has to move them to quorum queues or streams before it can run 4.x, and that queue migration is usually the longest part of the programme.
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 RabbitMQ 4.3 | Rolling upgrades through 3.12 and 3.13, then 4.x, with the queue migration on the way. | Weeks to months | Engineering time | The destination. Plan the mirrored-queue migration first, because it decides the date. |
| Blue/Green to a new 4.x cluster | Build a new cluster on a current release and move traffic across. | Weeks | Parallel infrastructure plus engineering time | Skips the three-hop chain, at the cost of running two clusters for a while. |
| OSSeva patched builds on 3.11 | Signed 3.11 builds with backported CVE fixes for the broker and its Erlang/OTP 25 runtime. | Days | Subscription | Keeps the cluster patched and auditable while the upgrade runs on your timeline. |
| Stay unpatched | No public fixes since December 2023, on an unsupported Erlang runtime. | None | Zero now | Brokers sit at the centre of every integration. A poor place to carry open advisories. |
What OSSeva does for RabbitMQ 3.11
OSSeva patches this line
OSSeva ships patched, signed RabbitMQ 3.11 builds now, with backported fixes for the broker, the management plugin and the Erlang/OTP 25 runtime underneath. They are available on the Patch, Assure and Operate tiers, and OSSeva engineers run the mirrored to quorum queue migration when the cluster is ready to move.
RabbitMQ extended supportWhat your auditor will say
Every system component in the cardholder data environment needs its applicable security patches. A runtime or broker with no upstream fix supply needs a patched source or a documented compensating control.
Auditors ask for evidence that production systems receive security fixes. A version past end of life fails that test unless another supplier ships the fixes and can show which CVEs they close.
RabbitMQ 3.11: common questions
When did RabbitMQ 3.11 reach end of life?
Community support ended on 30 June 2023 and Broadcom's commercial support on 30 June 2024. The last public release was 3.11.28, on 22 December 2023.
Which Erlang version does RabbitMQ 3.11 need?
Erlang/OTP 25.0 to 25.3.x. Erlang 26 support starts with RabbitMQ 3.12.0, so a 3.11 cluster cannot move to a newer runtime without a broker upgrade.
Can I upgrade RabbitMQ 3.11 straight to 4.x?
Not with a rolling upgrade. The supported chain is 3.11.18 or later to 3.12, 3.12 to 3.13, and 3.13 to 4.x, with all feature flags enabled before each move. A Blue/Green deployment to a new 4.x cluster avoids the chain.
Can I get security patches for RabbitMQ 3.11?
Yes. OSSeva ships patched, signed 3.11 builds today, covering the broker and the Erlang/OTP 25 runtime, on the Patch, Assure and Operate tiers.
Still running RabbitMQ 3.11?
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.