Announcing Java updates of Apr 21, 2026 for 8, 11, 17, 21, 25, and 26 - thoughts and resources
It's that time again: there are new Oracle JVM updates released today (Apr 21, 2026) for the current long-term support (LTS) releases of Oracle Java, 8, 11, 17, 21, and 25, as well as the newest short-term release, 26. (Yep, kind of crazy that there are for now 5 current Oracle Java "LTS" releases, for historical reasons.)
TLDR: The new updates are 1.8.0_491 (aka 8u491), 11.0.31, 17.0.19, 21.0.11, 25.0.3, and 26.0.1 respectively. More on the updates below, including links to more info on each of them including what changed, bug fixes, and the security fixes each version contains. (I also offer a quick assessment of the changes listed for the updates.)
Also, openjdk updates are usually released at the same time or soon after, so this info may help users of such alternative JDK implementations.
For some folks, the above is all they need to hear. For others, whether this your first time updating Java or your fiftieth, there are some things that you may or may not know, as I cover here.
