Linux Kernel

Arch Linux has issued its February installation ISO, incorporating package updates from January 2026. This monthly snapshot includes a newer kernel, system libraries, and security enhancements for fresh installations. Users can now download it from official mirrors to set up the latest version of the rolling-release distribution.

February 01, 2026 Reported by AI

The Linux kernel community has endorsed a contingency plan to manage leadership transitions. This strategy aims to maintain stability in the event that founder Linus Torvalds steps down from his role.

A new analysis of 20 years of Linux kernel development reveals that bugs often remain undetected for years, with an average lifespan of 2.1 years before discovery. The research, conducted by Pebblebed's Jenny Guanni Qu, highlights variations across kernel components and the prevalence of incomplete fixes. Some vulnerabilities persisted for over two decades.

January 01, 2026 Reported by AI

Arch Linux has released its January 2026 ISO snapshot (2026.01.01), featuring Linux kernel 6.18 LTS for better hardware support, the recently updated Archinstall 3.0.15 installer, and December 2025 package security updates. Ideal for new installations on modern hardware.

The Linux 6.18 kernel, released as the 2025 long-term support version, provides significant performance improvements over Linux 6.12 LTS for fifth-generation AMD EPYC processors. Benchmarks on an AMD EPYC 9755 dual-processor server demonstrate advantages from AMD-specific optimizations and general kernel enhancements. This upgrade is expected to drive adoption in enterprise and hyperscaler environments.

December 19, 2025 Reported by AI

Following the initial report of the first vulnerability in Linux kernel Rust code, deeper analysis of CVE-2025-68260 in the Rust-based Binder module reveals a race condition in data list handling that causes memory corruption and system crashes. Detailed patches are available in kernel 6.18.1 and 6.19-rc1.