Contents

Introduction

This document describes how to find a stable software release for the Cisco C9350 and C9610 Series Smart Switches.

Background Information

The information in this document is not meant to be exhaustive and is intended to serve as a general guide to you especially in cases of mass deployments/upgrades. Beyond these recommendations, if you are required to run a release to utilize newer software features or hardware, the recommendation is to select Extended Maintenance (EM) release trains wherever possible.

- For software recommendations on Cisco Catalyst Center and Software-Defined Access SDA), please refer to this page

- For software recommendations on Cisco Catalyst 1000/2960/3560CDB/4500, Catalyst 3650/3850, and Catalyst 6500/6800 series switches, please refer to this page

- For software recommendations on Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers, please refer to this page

- For Software recommended on Cisco Catalyst 9200/9300/9400/9500/9600 series switches, please refer to this page

Recommendations

The recommendations stated here are current as of May 2026 and are periodically updated when appropriate.

Product Family

Product ID (PID)

Recommended Cisco IOS XE Release

Cisco C9350

C9350-48HX

C9350-48HXN

C9350-48TX

C9350-48U

C9350-48P

C9350-48T

17.18.03a

C9350-24HX

C9350-24U

C9350-24P

C9350-24T

17.18.03a

Cisco C9610

C9610-SUP-3

17.18.03a

C9610-SUP-3XL

17.18.03a

Software Recommendation FAQ

Question: What if I see a recommended version of code on this page, but it is not available to download for that specific switch model?

Answer:

- When Cisco Smart switches are launched, it is possible they do not support earlier versions of software that were released before the hardware was launched. Always confirm what software is actually available to download for that specific platform.

- Do not download a version of code from some other platform page and attempt to install on your device. The software available on the specific product page takes precedence over this release recommendation page

- In a situation like this, use the feedback feature at the right hand side of the article to let us know! We make every effort to keep this page up to date, but in some cases (such as a new platform release) this page recommendation can be slightly behind.

Software Maintenance Upgrade SMU) and Engineering Special (ES)

In certain cases, fix for critical bugs can be made available via Software Maintenance Upgrade SMU) or Engineering Special (ES) builds.

- Software Maintenance Upgrade SMU) is a package that can be installed on a system to provide a patch fix or a security resolution to a released image. A SMU package is provided on a per release and per component basis, and is specific to the platform. SMUs are supported only on Extended Maintenance Releases and for the full lifecycle of the parent software release.

- Engineering Special (ES) builds are meant to be deployed for a limited time frame and are not available on CCO (cisco.com). You are advised to move to the next maintenance rebuild as soon as it is available on cisco.com.  Engineering special builds are fully supported by the Cisco Customer Experience (CX) and the Business Unit (BU).

If you encounter any issues specific to your environment which is not already fixed in existing cisco.com releases, please contact Cisco Customer Experience (CX) to explore the possibility of a SMU or ES.

Related Information

Cisco Support and Downloads

Cisco IOS XE 17 - Release Notes - Cisco

Cisco IOS XE 26 - Release Notes - Cisco

Cisco C9350 Series Smart Switches - Release Notes

Cisco C9610 Series Smart Switches - Release Notes