Linux released its 5.14 kernel upgrade with security and performance improvements on August 29, paving the way for enterprise and cloud applications for coming months.
The upgrade included a feature known as core scheduling, which is meant to mitigate processor-level vulnerabilities like Spectre and Meltdown that first appeared in 2018.
To fix such vulnerabilities, users must deactivate hyper-threading on CPUs.
“More specifically, the functionality aids in the separation of trusted and untrusted tasks so that they do not share a core, reducing the overall danger surface while maintaining cloud-scale performance,” Mike McGrath, Vice President of Linux Engineering at Red Hat, explained.
Another upgraded feature, which has been developed for more than a year and a half, will enhance system memory protection and prevent attacks against Linux and other operating systems. Thanks to the new kernel, an application running on a Linux system can create a memory range that is made unavailable to anybody else, using the memfd secret capability.
This means cryptographic keys, sensitive data, and other secrets can be held there to limit exposure to other users or system activity, McGrath said.
As a component ensuring the proper system function, the Linux kernel is the core of the open-source Linux operating system, which powers the majority of cloud and enterprise software delivery.
The Linux 5.14 kernel was contributed by 1,650 individual developers and major vendors such as Intel, AMD, IBM, Oracle, and Samsung. It also went through seven release candidates in the last two months.
It was 30 years ago this week that creator Linus Torvalds publicly revealed Linux for the first time. Over time, it has evolved from a hobbyist project to running the backbone of the contemporary could.
McGrath said Red Hat is thrilled about how Linux will be the backbone for edge computing in the future, not just in telecoms, but across all industries, from manufacturing to healthcare to entertainment and service providers.
An industry insider that Linux’s long-term viability and usefulness are secured over the next three decades. According to him, Linux and open source have opened up unparalleled opportunities for creativity, as well as openness and freedom, over the years.
