# Ensure Instances Do Not Run End-of-Life Operating Systems

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/a_1791826025548877-ensure-instances-do-not-run-end-of-life-operating-systems
- Section: [Solutions](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions) › [OVH Cloud](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/c_1791819364512367) › [checks](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/folders/f_1791819376721251)
- Last updated: 2026-10-12
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**Description**

Ensure Public Cloud instances run operating system versions that are still supported by their vendor and receive security updates. Instances on end-of-life versions, such as old Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, or Windows Server releases, should be upgraded or rebuilt on a supported image.

**Rationale**

End-of-life operating systems no longer receive security patches, so new vulnerabilities stay open forever and are actively targeted by attackers. Running supported versions makes sure the instance can be patched and reduces the risk of compromise.

**Impact**

-   Instances keep receiving security patches
    
-   Reduces exposure to known vulnerabilities
    
-   Upgrading or rebuilding may require downtime and testing
    

**Default Value**

Instances keep the image they were created with. OVHcloud does not upgrade the operating system of running instances.

**Pre-Requisites**

-   Permission to manage instances in the Public Cloud project
    
-   A maintenance window and a backup of each instance
    

**Test Plan**

1.  Log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel at [https://www.ovh.com/manager/](https://www.ovh.com/manager/).
    
2.  In the left-hand menu, select Public Cloud and choose your project.
    
3.  In the left-hand menu, select Instances and review the image (operating system) of each instance.
    
4.  Compare each version with OVHcloud's image life cycle page and the vendor's support dates.
    
5.  If any instance runs an end-of-life version, follow the implementation steps.
    

**Implementation Steps**

1.  Take a backup of the instance (see the automated backup check).
    
2.  Upgrade the operating system in place (see OVHcloud's Upgrading your operating system guide), or create a new instance with a supported image and migrate the workload.
    
3.  Test the application, then delete the old instance if it was replaced.
    

**Backout Plan**

1.  Restore the instance from the backup taken before the upgrade.
    

**Reference**

-   [https://docs.ovhcloud.com/en/guides/public-cloud/compute/image-life-cycle](https://docs.ovhcloud.com/en/guides/public-cloud/compute/image-life-cycle)
    
-   [https://docs.ovhcloud.com/en/guides/public-cloud/compute/upgrading-operating-system](https://docs.ovhcloud.com/en/guides/public-cloud/compute/upgrading-operating-system)

## Related compliance guidance

- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them.
- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.