diff --git a/core/modules/update/src/ModuleVersionParser.php b/core/modules/update/src/ModuleVersionParser.php
index f365125227..4ae563a443 100644
--- a/core/modules/update/src/ModuleVersionParser.php
+++ b/core/modules/update/src/ModuleVersionParser.php
@@ -24,6 +24,22 @@ public function __construct($version) {
     $this->version = $version;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Constructs a module version parser from a support branch.
+   *
+   * This can be used to determine the major and minor versions. The patch
+   * version will always be 'x'.
+   *
+   * @param string $branch
+   *   The support branch.
+   *
+   * @return \Drupal\update\ModuleVersionParser
+   *   The module version parser.
+   */
+  public static function createFromSupportBranch($branch) {
+    return new static ($branch . 'x');
+  }
+
   /**
    * Gets the major version.
    *
diff --git a/core/modules/update/update.compare.inc b/core/modules/update/update.compare.inc
index 5ef9053f8c..9b6c4193ee 100644
--- a/core/modules/update/update.compare.inc
+++ b/core/modules/update/update.compare.inc
@@ -123,12 +123,14 @@ function update_calculate_project_data($available) {
  * with an error and the next project is considered.
  *
  * If the project itself is valid, the function decides what major release
- * series to consider. The project defines what the currently supported major
- * versions are for each version of core, so the first step is to make sure the
- * current version is still supported. If so, that's the target version. If the
- * current version is unsupported, the project maintainer's recommended major
- * version is used. There's also a check to make sure that this function never
- * recommends an earlier release than the currently installed major version.
+ * series to consider. The project defines the currently supported development
+ * branches, so the first step is to make sure the development branch of the
+ * current version is still supported. If so, then the major version of the
+ * current version is used. If the current
+ * version is not in supported branch, the project maintainer's recommended
+ * branch is used to determine the major version to use. There's also a check to
+ * make sure that this function never recommends an earlier release than the
+ * currently installed major version.
  *
  * Given a target major version, the available releases are scanned looking for
  * the specific release to recommend (avoiding beta releases and development
@@ -247,12 +249,11 @@ function update_calculate_project_update_status(&$project_data, $available) {
     // Still supported, stay at the current major version.
     $target_major = $existing_major;
   }
-  elseif (isset($available['recommended_branch'])) {
-    // We know the current release is unsupported since
-    // its major version was not in the 'supported_branches' list. We should
-    // find the best release from the recommended major version.
-    $branch_version_parser = new ModuleVersionParser($available['recommended_branch'] . 'x');
-    $target_major = $branch_version_parser->getMajorVersion();
+  elseif ($supported_branches) {
+    // We know the current release is unsupported since it is not in
+    // 'supported_branches' list. We should use the next supported branch for
+    // the target major version.
+    $target_major = ModuleVersionParser::createFromSupportBranch($supported_branches[0])->getMajorVersion();
     $project_data['status'] = UpdateManagerInterface::NOT_SUPPORTED;
   }
   else {