RDS PostgreSQL Extended Support: More Time, Same Cost

RDS PostgreSQL Extended Support offers up to three more years of CVE/bug fixes for older minor versions. But don't expect a discount.

What changed

• Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL now offers Extended Support for minor versions 13.23-rds.20260514, 12.22-rds.20260514, and 11.22-rds.20260514.
• This support provides critical CVE and bug fixes for up to three years beyond the standard end-of-support date for these major versions.

Why it matters

This announcement provides a critical buffer for organizations still running older PostgreSQL versions on RDS. The honest version: This isn't a new feature, but a formalization of a necessary lifecycle extension. It grants an additional three years of security patches and bug fixes, directly addressing the operational burden of frequent major version upgrades. Workloads that are complex to migrate or are subject to strict change control policies will benefit most, as it buys them time to plan and execute upgrades without immediate exposure to unpatched vulnerabilities. This effectively replaces the ad-hoc scramble to patch critical CVEs on unsupported versions.

The catch

Extended Support is not free. While the announcement doesn't specify pricing, historically, RDS Extended Support incurs an additional hourly charge on top of the standard RDS instance cost. The catch: You gain security and stability, but you pay a premium for it. The exact cost per instance-hour for these specific versions is not detailed, requiring a dive into the RDS pricing page or CLI for specifics. This announcement also does not specify the maximum number of regions where this Extended Support is available, though it is typically broad.

Ship it

If your RDS PostgreSQL instances are running versions 11, 12, or 13 and approaching their end-of-standard-support dates, evaluate the cost of Extended Support against the effort of migrating to a newer major version. Pairs with: AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) can assist with planning and executing these upgrades. Consider this option if immediate migration is not feasible due to operational constraints.

Bottom line: RDS PostgreSQL Extended Support buys time for older versions with critical patches, but expect additional hourly charges.

*— Filed to /aws