A maintenance release (also minor release or Maintenance Pack or MP) is a release of a product that does not add new features or content.1 For instance, in computer software, maintenance releases are typically intended to solve minor problems, typically "bugs" or security issues. Google, for instance, planned to halve its maintenance release times, to biweekly, commencing September 8, 2026, to enhance enterprise user security.2
Example of minor version numbering
The somewhat unusual version number "3.0.5a" was used for a minor release of KDE due to a lack of version numbers. Work on KDE 3.1 had already started and, up to that day, the release coordinator used version numbers such as 3.0.5, 3.0.6 internally in the main CVS repository to mark snapshots of the upcoming 3.1. Then, after 3.0.3, a number of important and unexpected bug fixes (starting from 3.0.4) suddenly became necessary, leading to a conflict, since 3.0.5 was, at this time, already in use. More recent KDE release cycles have tagged pre-release snapshots with large revision numbers, such as 3.1.95, to avoid such conflicts.
References
References
- Classen, H. Ward (2005). A practical guide to software licensing for licensees and licensors: analyses and model forms. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association, Section of Business Law. p. 327. ISBN 978-1590315743.
- Sharwood, Simon (2026-03-04). "Google will soon ship Chrome updates every two weeks". theregister. Retrieved 2026-05-13.