Microsoft Warns For End Of Support For .NET Core 3.1 In December

In the coming month, Microsoft will end support for .NET Core 3.1. That was announced months ago. The deadline is December 13, 2022, the next Windows Patch Day. Until then, users should switch.

.NET Core 3.1 will officially end support on December 13th. After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide servicing updates or technical support for .NET Core 3.1.

Anyone who has not yet switched to .NET 6 or 7 should now slowly but surely take the necessary steps to continue to be supported and to receive security-relevant .NET updates.

What next for .NET Core 3.1 applications?

.NET Core 3.1 applications will continue to run after end of support. Nothing about them will change. Any security fix in .NET 6 that Microsoft releases after December 13 represents a potential documented and unpatched vulnerability for .NET Core 3.1 applications. As a result, Microsoft now strongly recommends migrating applications to .NET 6.

Microsoft writes specifically for users: “If you are an end user, we recommend that you contact the vendor who manages your software to see if an updated version of the software is required and available.”

Microsoft is now reporting this in the Windows Message Center :

Action Needed

Migrate from .NET Core 3.1 to .NET 7 or any other supported version by December 13, 2022.NET Core 3.1 (LTS) will reach end of support on December 13, 2022. If you are using .NET Core 3.1 (LTS), please migrate to .NET 6 (LTS) or .NET 7 as soon as possible. 

.NET 7 is available today. Read more at 

.NET Core 3.1 reaches end of support on December 13, 2022 .

Update for Visual Studio

Starting with the December 2022 Service Update for Visual Studio 2019 16.11, Visual Studio 2019 17.0, and Visual Studio 2022 17.2, the .NET Core 3.1 component in Visual Studio will be deprecated and changed to optional.

This means workloads can be installed in Visual Studio without installing .NET Core 3.1. Existing installations are not affected.