Kibana, built on the Node.js framework, is transitioning to Node.js 18 following its elevation to Long Term Support (LTS), which necessitated a custom build due to Node.js 18's incompatibility with certain older Linux distributions like Ubuntu 16, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, and CentOS 7. This transition was delayed as Node.js 18 requires a newer version of the GNU C Library (glibc) than these distributions support, prompting Kibana to develop a version compatible with glibc 2.17. With Node.js 16's End-of-Life date brought forward to September 2023, the upcoming releases of Kibana 8.10.0 and 7.17.13 will include Node.js 18, ensuring continued stability without disruption to users. Kibana's custom Node.js build will also be available for other projects via GitHub. Users on outdated Linux distributions are advised to upgrade or consider alternatives like Elastic Cloud or Docker images to maintain compatibility. Elastic highlights that while changes are at its discretion, keeping the Elastic cluster updated ensures users benefit from the latest security patches and bug fixes.