Service Proxy

Envoy Proxy Releases

Track Envoy proxy releases, xDS API evolution, and Istio version alignment. Upgrade paths, WASM filter support, and version compatibility for service mesh deployments.

Official Site Documentation

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Total Versions

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Supported

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Latest

Version Timeline

All tracked releases with lifecycle status and EOL dates.

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Lifecycle Timeline

Visual overview of active support and maintenance windows.

1.26

1.27

1.28

1.29

1.30

1.31

1.32

1.33

1.34

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028

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Upgrade Paths

Migration guidance between major versions — breaking changes, effort estimates, and tips.

1.28 and older 1.31+ Medium Difficulty

Est. 1-3 hours per version hop

Breaking Changes

xDS v2 API fully removed (v3 required since 1.25)
Deprecated filter names removed
Changed default connection timeout behaviors
Updated ext_authz filter API
Removed legacy Cluster.hosts field (use load_assignment)

Migration Notes

Envoy recommends upgrading one minor version at a time. Each release includes a deprecation log. Use envoy --mode validate to check your config against the new version before deploying. If managed by Istio, upgrade Istio instead.

1.31/1.32 1.33/1.34 Low Difficulty

Est. 30-60 minutes

Breaking Changes

New default WASM runtime (V8 → wazero on some platforms)
Enhanced HTTP/3 connection pooling
Updated default circuit breaker thresholds
New outlier detection algorithms

Migration Notes

Recent version upgrades are smooth if you keep up with the quarterly cadence. Validate config, update the binary/image, verify via admin /ready endpoint. Most breaking changes are clearly flagged in the deprecation log for 2 releases before removal.

Version Risk Assessment

Evaluate risk factors before choosing a version for production.

Version	EOL Risk	CVE Risk	Ecosystem	Cloud Support	Overall	Recommended Action
Envoy Proxy 1.28 and older	Critical	High	EOL	Unsupported	Critical	Past EOL — no security patches available
Envoy Proxy 1.29/1.30	Critical	Medium	EOL	Degrading	Critical	Past EOL — upgrade to 1.33+
Envoy Proxy 1.31	High	Medium	Maintenance	Full	High	Security-only — plan upgrade
Envoy Proxy 1.32	Medium	Low	Supported	Full	Medium	Supported until Oct 2025
Envoy Proxy 1.33	Low	Low	Active	Full	Low	Current supported — recommended
Envoy Proxy 1.34	None	Low	Active	Full	Low	Latest — recommended for new deployments

Envoy follows a quarterly release cadence. Each version gets ~12 months of support. Running 3+ versions behind means you are past EOL. Risk assessed March 2026.

Envoy Version Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature differences across major versions.

Feature	1.28	1.30	1.32	1.34
xDS API version	v3	v3	v3	v3
WASM filter ABI	Stable	Stable	Enhanced	Enhanced
HTTP/3 (QUIC)	Stable	Stable	Enhanced	Enhanced
gRPC-native load balancing	Stable	Enhanced	Enhanced	Enhanced
ext_authz v3	Stable	Stable	Enhanced	Enhanced
OpenTelemetry tracing	Stable	Stable	Enhanced	Enhanced
Dual-stack IPv4/IPv6	Partial	Stable	Stable	Stable
Matching API (xDS routing)	Stable	Enhanced	Enhanced	Enhanced
Access log filters	Basic	Enhanced	Enhanced	Advanced
Istio alignment	1.20	1.22	1.24	1.26 (est)

Embed Badges

Add live Envoy Proxy status badges to your README, docs, or dashboard.

Health Status

Overall support health

![Envoy Proxy Health Status](https://img.releaserun.com/badge/health/envoy.svg)

EOL Countdown

Next end-of-life date

![Envoy Proxy EOL Countdown](https://img.releaserun.com/badge/eol/envoy.svg)

Latest Version

Current stable release

![Envoy Proxy Latest Version](https://img.releaserun.com/badge/v/envoy.svg)

CVE Status

Known vulnerabilities

![Envoy Proxy CVE Status](https://img.releaserun.com/badge/cve/envoy.svg)

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Envoy Proxy releases and lifecycle.

How does Envoy versioning work?

Envoy releases quarterly. Each minor release (1.28, 1.29, 1.30) gets approximately 12 months of support: 3 months of active development, then 9 months of security/critical patches. When a new minor releases, the previous one moves to security-only. Two versions back is EOL.

Which Envoy version does Istio use?

Istio pins to specific Envoy versions. Istio 1.20 uses Envoy 1.28, Istio 1.21 uses Envoy 1.29, and Istio 1.22 uses Envoy 1.30. You generally do not choose the Envoy version independently when running Istio. Upgrading Istio automatically upgrades Envoy. Check the Istio release notes for the exact Envoy version.

What are WASM filters in Envoy?

WebAssembly (WASM) filters let you extend Envoy with custom logic written in any language that compiles to WASM (Rust, Go, C++, AssemblyScript). They run sandboxed inside the Envoy process, replacing the old native C++ filter model for custom extensions. WASM filters are portable across Envoy versions (stable ABI since 1.27).

Should I use Envoy directly or through a control plane?

Most teams use Envoy through a control plane: Istio for service mesh, Gloo Edge or Contour for API gateway, or Ambassador/Emissary for ingress. Using Envoy directly requires managing xDS configuration, which is complex. Direct use makes sense for specialized proxying needs or when building your own control plane.

What is the xDS API?

xDS (x Discovery Service) is Envoy's dynamic configuration API. It includes CDS (Cluster), EDS (Endpoint), LDS (Listener), RDS (Route), and SDS (Secret) discovery services. Control planes like Istio push configuration to Envoy via xDS over gRPC. The xDS API is versioned independently from Envoy itself (currently v3, with v2 removed since Envoy 1.25).

How does Envoy compare to Nginx and HAProxy?

Envoy was built for microservices and cloud-native environments. Its strengths are dynamic configuration (xDS), observability (built-in stats, tracing, logging), and extensibility (WASM, gRPC-native). Nginx and HAProxy are simpler for traditional reverse proxy/load balancer use cases and have lower resource overhead. Envoy wins when you need dynamic service discovery and fine-grained traffic management.

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