Linux Kernel 5.17 became the shortest-lived series. It was released on March 20th and now it is marked as the end of life on kernel.org. This means the version will not receive maintenance updates from now on, including security updates. Users are urged to upgrade to Linux Kernel 5.18 immediately.
Shortest-lived kernel series
The announcement came along with the latest maintenance update, Linux Kernel 5.17.15, which is also the last one. There are still many GNU/Linux distributions using Linux Kernel 5.17. There are even some distros that couldn’t upgrade to Linux Kernel 5.17 yet. Distribution maintainers are urged to upgrade to the 5.18 kernel series now.
Linux Kernel 5.18 was also updated to version 5.18.4. Linux Kernel 5.18 came with various important features, such as user events support in the tracing system, 64-bit integrity checksums support on NVMe devices, and improved scheduling performance on AMD Zen processors. Users or developers who don’t want to upgrade Linux Kernel frequently can switch to a long-term-support branch, such as Linux Kernel 5.15 LTS. Greg Kroah-Hartman, Linux Kernel developer said,
« This is the LAST 5.17.y kernel release. This kernel branch is now end-of-life. Please move to 5.18.y at this point in time, no more new updates will happen on this kernel branch at all. »
FAQ
What is the most recent Linux kernel?
The latest version of Linux Kernel is 6.2 and it was released on February 20, 2023. Also, the latest LTS (Long-Term Support) version of Linux Kernel is 6.1 and it was released on December 11, 2022.
How do you check the installed Linux kernel version?
You can check the Linux kernel version of your system with three different methods. You can simply use uname -r command to quickly check the Linux kernel version. You can also use cat /proc/version to check the version from a file. Installing the neofetch application is also an option to check the kernel version and it provides additional information about the other packages installed as well.
Can the Linux kernel be customized?
Yes, the Linux kernel can be customized. You can customize the Linux kernel by enabling or disabling specific options, and even adding new functionalities. But it’s a complicated process; you can check online guides about customizing the Linux kernel.
Is it legal to edit the Linux kernel?
Yes, it is legal to edit the Linux kernel since it is under General Public License.
Is the Linux kernel open source?
Yes, the Linux kernel is an open-source project.
Who developed the Linux kernel?
Linus Torvalds has developed and still developing the Linux kernel.
Does Linus Torvalds still work on Linux?
Yes, Linus Torvalds still works on developing the Linux kernel.
What is the Linux kernel written in?
Linux kernel code is written in the standard C programming language.