Kubernetes Versions and Container Engine for Kubernetes

Find out about the Kubernetes versioning scheme and Container Engine for Kubernetes (OKE) support for different Kubernetes versions.

When you create a new Kubernetes cluster using Container Engine for Kubernetes, you specify:

  • The version of Kubernetes to run on the control plane nodes in the cluster.
  • The version of Kubernetes to run on the worker nodes in the cluster. Different worker nodes in the same node pool can run different versions of Kubernetes. Different node pools in a cluster can run different versions of Kubernetes.

The version of Kubernetes that you specify for the worker nodes in a cluster must be either the same Kubernetes version as that running on the control plane nodes, or an earlier Kubernetes version that is still compatible. In other words:

  • The control plane nodes in a new cluster must run the same version of Kubernetes as the version running on worker nodes, or must be no more than two versions (or three versions, starting from Kubernetes version 1.28) ahead.
  • The worker nodes in a cluster must not run a more recent version of Kubernetes than the associated control plane nodes.

The restrictions ensure that the oldest supported minor version of the kubelet and kube-proxy components running on a cluster's worker nodes are always compatible with the newest supported minor version of the kube-apiserver, kube-scheduler, kube-controller-manager, and cloud-controller-manager components running on the cluster's control plane nodes.

For more information, see the Kubernetes version skew support policy.

New Versions of Kubernetes

The Kubernetes project constantly releases new versions, containing new and updated features, and bug fixes.

Kubernetes version numbers have the format x.y.z where x is a major release, y is a minor release, and z is a patch release. For example, 1.28.2.

The Kubernetes project supports the most recent three minor releases of Kubernetes.

As described in the Kubernetes version skew support policy, a certain amount of version variation is permissible between control plane nodes and worker nodes in a cluster:

  • The Kubernetes version on worker nodes can lag behind the version on the control plane nodes by up to two versions (or three versions, starting from Kubernetes version 1.28), but no more. If the version on the worker nodes is more than two versions (or three versions, starting from Kubernetes version 1.28) behind the version on the control plane nodes, the Kubernetes versions on the worker nodes and the control plane nodes are incompatible.
  • The Kubernetes version on worker nodes must never be more recent than the version on the control plane nodes.

For the Kubernetes versions currently and previously supported by Container Engine for Kubernetes, see Supported Versions of Kubernetes.