If your application runs on a VPS, there's a good chance it sits on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. It was the default choice for years, and it did its job well. But since May 2025, this version has fallen out of Canonical's standard support. In practical terms, your server no longer receives basic security patches for its system. It's not something to handle in a panic, but it's a deadline you'd be better off addressing before it catches up with you.
Here's what you need to decide with a clear head: what the end of support really changes, what your options are, and how a well-run server migration unfolds.
What "end of support" means for your server
Ubuntu 20.04 enjoyed five years of standard support, from April 2020 to April 2025. Past that date, Canonical stops publishing free security updates for the vast majority of the system's packages. Your server keeps running — nothing shuts off overnight — but it is no longer maintained.
The risk isn't theoretical. Every month, new vulnerabilities are discovered in the building blocks that run a web server: the Linux kernel, OpenSSL, system libraries, network services. On a supported version, a patch arrives and you apply it. On an unsupported version, the vulnerability stays open indefinitely. A server hosting an application that's reachable over the Internet then becomes a target whose attack surface only grows over time.
On top of that comes a knock-on effect: recent software stops being tested against such an old base. You end up stuck on old versions of your language, your database or your application server, which makes every future evolution of the application more complicated.
Your two options: migrate, or buy time properly
Faced with this deadline, two sensible paths are open to you.
Upgrading to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. This is the substantive solution. 24.04 is the current LTS version, supported until 2029 on the standard track, with up-to-date components and maintained security. It's the right investment when you want to start fresh on a healthy base for several years rather than pushing the problem down the road.
ESM / Ubuntu Pro as a reprieve. Canonical offers a program, Expanded Security Maintenance, included in the Ubuntu Pro subscription. It extends 20.04's security patches well beyond the standard date. It's an excellent safety net: it covers you while you prepare the real migration, or if a tight schedule keeps you from switching right away. Think of it as a bridge, not a destination — the system stays aging, only the security holes are plugged.
The right move is often to combine the two: enable ESM to be immediately protected, then calmly plan the upgrade to 24.04.
How a well-run server migration goes
Migrating a server isn't about running an update command and crossing your fingers. A clean switchover always follows the same logic, the one that avoids nasty surprises.
It all starts with a complete, verified backup: the application, its data, its server configuration. A backup you've never tested isn't a backup. Next, you don't touch production directly. You set up a rehearsal environment — a copy of the server on the target version — where you replay the application's installation and run through all the important journeys. That's where you flush out incompatibilities: a library that has changed behavior, an abandoned dependency, a setting to adjust.
Once the rehearsal is validated, the switchover is prepared as a short, reversible operation: an announced maintenance window, a rollback procedure ready in case anything resists. The goal is simple: that your users see only a brief interruption, if any at all, and that you can roll back at any moment.
App and server: the pair you should never split up
This is exactly where many projects get stuck. The team that wrote the application doesn't necessarily know the server, and the managed-hosting provider that runs the server doesn't know the application. The result: nobody wants to press the button, and the migration drags on for years.
At Super Génial, we take on both together — the aging web application and its Ubuntu server — at a fixed price. We know how to make the code and the machine talk to each other because we hold both ends. No passing the buck between providers, no nasty surprise at switchover time.
If you're still running on Ubuntu 20.04 and would rather deal with the subject before it becomes an incident, take a look at what we offer for server maintenance and takeover, or at the pricing to gauge the budget. You'll also find other pointers in our resources for keeping a web application healthy over the long term.