First Release Candidate of Linux 6.1 Kernel Announced
The development cycle for the 6.1 Linux kernel is off and running with the availability of the first Release Candidate.
The 6.1 kernel has hit the RC stage. Although this won't bring about any massive or deal-making changes to Linux, there are still a few features to get excited about. Most important is the first inclusion of Rust, which will be greatly expanded over the coming years.
Other notable features include support for the new Intel Arc and AMD RDNA3 graphics, Multi-Gen LUR VM series (which will give the kernel a significant performance boost on memory-constrained systems), and the new Kernel Memory Sanitizer.
In addition, the x86_64 version will warn over W+X mappings, the AMD Platform Management Framework has been merged, five vulnerabilities with Wi-Fi handling – CVE-2022-41674 (kernels up to 5.19), CVE-2022-42719 (5.2 to 5.19), CVE-2022-42720 and CVE-2022-42721 (both 5.1 to 5.19), and CVE-2022-42722 (5.8 to 5.19) – have been fixed.
This release also has better support for Intel's new Gaudi2 AI accelerator chip, EUFI support for LoongArch CPUs, and more.
However, Linus Torvalds hasn't been 100% happy with how things have been going. Prior to the RC release, he made a very pointed statement about developers pulling all-nighters to meet deadlines.
On that issue, Torvalds said, "that should have gone out the window after high school. Not for kernel development."
Read more about the announcement in a message from Linus Torvalds on the Linux Kernel mailing list.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.