VMware perpetual licenses are end of availability, not end of life: Broadcom stopped selling them and SnS renewals (announced December 2023, listed January 2024), existing licenses keep running and are supported to the end of their contract — then patch, upgrade and support access stop, except zero-day (CVSS ≥ 9.0) fixes on vSphere 8.x. vSphere 7.0 passed general support on October 2, 2025; 8.0 runs to October 11, 2027. What ended, what you keep, how to check, and the four options.
vSphere EOL Risk Scores
| Version | EOL Risk Score | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| ESXi 7.0 | 60 | End of general support October 2, 2025; hypervisor attack surface; KEV exposure; no zero-day patch entitlement for perpetual holders. |
| ESXi 8.0 | 30 | Supported to October 11, 2027; the supported-hypervisor baseline. |
| ESXi 9.0 | 30 | Supported to September 17, 2027. |
What's covered
- Key Dates at a Glance
- vSphere EOL Risk Scores
- What Broadcom Actually Ended
- What Happens When SnS Expires on a Perpetual License
- The Zero-Day Patch Exception (vSphere 8.x Only)
- The Version Dates That Compound the Licensing Question
- How to Check Your Own Position
- Your Four Options
Full guide with every version, risk scores, and live updates: https://endoflife.ai/article-vmware-perpetual-license-eol
