News
VirtualBox Now Supports Linux Kernel 5.8
Linus Torvalds said that the Linux Kernel 5.8 was the largest release of all time. Although the vast majority of the changes to the kernel was code cleanup, there were a number of additions to the supported hardware and even some new features. But due to the size of this new kernel, one would have thought it might have taken considerable time for the likes of VirtualBox to come out with support. That is not the case.
With the release of VirtualBox 6.1.14, the newest kernel is officially supported. This means you can not only run VirtualBox on Linux distribution hosts that use the 5.8 kernel, you can also run those same distributions as guest virtual machines.
But don't think the 6.1.14 maintenance release is only about supporting the new kernel. This latest release also includes plenty of bug fixes for Windows and macOS hosts and other fixes such as:
- Fixing a regression in HDA audio emulation
- Fixing webcam passthrough and audio input issue on macOS Mojave and newer
- Fixing an issue in Windows host serial port implementation
- Fixing an issue when copying HTML data to the shared clipboard
Of course, the big news is the support for the new kernel. For a more complete listing of the changes, read the changelog (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog).
Download the latest version of VirtualBox (as well as the Extension Pack and the SDK) from the official download page (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads).
Three Major Linux Threats Discovered
In less than a week, it has been reported that Linux has been found to be vulnerable to three different attacks. This should come as no surprise, given the steady rise in popularity Linux has enjoyed over the last year.
The first attack is a cryptomining dedicated denial of service (DDoS) attack, named Lucifer. This hybrid DDoS botnet was first known for infecting Windows machines with Monero cryptomining bots. That attack is now scanning for and infecting Linux servers and desktops. The Linux version of the Lucifer botnet has the same capabilities as the Windows version, but it can also be used in HTTP-based DDoS attacks.
The next attack, dubbed FritzFrog, is another botnet that was discovered breaching SSH servers starting in January 2020. This bot, written in Golang, has been found to target systems within the government, education, and finance sectors. FritzFrog assembles and executes its in-memory payload. Once on a system, FritzFrog communicates, via an encrypted channel, using over 30 commands. The malware then spawns multiple threads to facilitate replication, deployment, and growth. Guardicore Labs has created a script (https://github.com/guardicore/labs_campaigns/tree/master/FritzFrog) that can detect FritzFrog infections.
Finally, Drovorub is a toolset that creates a backdoor on Linux machines that enables file downloads and uploads, as well as the execution of commands as root and port forwarding of network traffic. Worst of all, Drovorub implants a kernel rootkit, which is enhanced with additional capabilities. To mitigate Drovorub, admins are warned to upgrade their Linux systems immediately (including the kernel). If your servers and desktops are running any kernel newer than 3.7, you should be safe. Of course, 3.7 is quite an old kernel, so chances are good you are already free from the effects of this malware.
Linux Kernel 5.8 Is Now Available
Linus Torvalds (the creator of Linux) has called the 5.8 kernel (https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/linux-5.8.tar.xz) the "Biggest release of all time." That kernel is now available for installation.
The majority of the 5.8 kernel is code cleanup, driver support, security improvements, and low-level optimizations, which translates into not a lot of user-facing features. To put this into perspective, Torvalds said this:
"But again, 5.8 is up there with the best, despite not really having any single thing that stands out. Yes, there's a couple of big driver changes (habanalabs and atomisp) that are certainly part of it, but it's not nearly as one-sided as some of the other historical big releases have been."
Some of the new features include support for Qualcomm Adreno 405/640/650, AMDGPU TMZ, Tiger Lake SAGV, POWER10 CPUs, Arm SoC, Tiger Lake Thunderbolt (for Intel's Gateway SoCs), as well as a new AMD Energy Driver.
Although you might be tempted to upgrade to the new 5.8 kernel, remember that your distribution of choice may not include their own supported drivers and patches. Because of this, you might not want to jump right in and install the latest kernel on a production machine. Install 5.8 on a test platform and kick the tires before you decide to go ahead on migrating any mission critical machine.
More Online
ADMIN HPC
http://www.admin-magazine.com/HPC/
SMART Devices
- Jeff Layton
Most storage devices have SMART capability, but can it help you predict failure? We look at ways to take advantage of this built-in monitoring technology with the smartctl utility from the Linux smartmontools package.
ADMIN Online
http://www.admin-magazine.com/
Cloud Security with AWS GuardDuty
- Raul Lapaz Valeiras
AWS GuardDuty uses machine learning and threat intelligence to identify malicious activity for continuous security monitoring in the cloud.
Goodbye Google Cloud Print
- Carsten Mickeleit
With the discontinuation of Google Cloud Print, we look at printing going forward in the enterprise.
Secrets and Certificate Management
- Chris Binnie
Vault is a highly secure, trusted place to keep your secrets and certificates.
« Previous 1 2
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
KDE Plasma 5.27 Beta is Ready for Testing
The latest beta iteration of the KDE Plasma desktop is now available and includes some important additions and fixes.
-
Netrunner OS 23 Is Now Available
The latest version of this Linux distribution is now based on Debian Bullseye and is ready for installation and finally hits the KDE 5.20 branch of the desktop.
-
New Linux Distribution Built for Gamers
With a Gnome desktop that offers different layouts and a custom kernel, PikaOS is a great option for gamers of all types.
-
System76 Beefs Up Popular Pangolin Laptop
The darling of open-source-powered laptops and desktops will soon drop a new AMD Ryzen 7-powered version of their popular Pangolin laptop.
-
Nobara Project Is a Modified Version of Fedora with User-Friendly Fixes
If you're looking for a version of Fedora that includes third-party and proprietary packages, look no further than the Nobara Project.
-
Gnome 44 Now Has a Release Date
Gnome 44 will be officially released on March 22, 2023.
-
Nitrux 2.6 Available with Kernel 6.1 and a Major Change
The developers of Nitrux have officially released version 2.6 of their Linux distribution with plenty of new features to excite users.
-
Vanilla OS Initial Release Is Now Available
A stock GNOME experience with on-demand immutability finally sees its first production release.
-
Critical Linux Vulnerability Found to Impact SMB Servers
A Linux vulnerability with a CVSS score of 10 has been found to affect SMB servers and can lead to remote code execution.
-
Linux Mint 21.1 Now Available with Plenty of Look and Feel Changes
Vera has arrived and although it is still using kernel 5.15, there are plenty of improvements sure to please everyone.