Joe Birr-Pixton has written a blog post reflecting on a decade of the Rustls TLS-library project and looking ahead to the upcoming 0.24 release and an eventual 1.0 release.

Rustls began with a first commit on May 2, 2016. Progress was quick: a month later, on June 5, it could interoperate with most sites on the web. The first release, 0.1.0, followed on August 27, 2016 – less than four months after the first commit.

[...] From the 0.1.0 release, the project moved through a long series of releases over the following eight years, building out functionality, hardening and refining the API. That sequence of release lines culminated in 0.23, released on February 29, 2024.

The 0.23 release line has been a stable one: in the time since, it has seen 43 non-breaking releases. That stability didn't come with stagnation. The 0.23 line delivered a wide range of important features, including a FIPS-certified cryptography option, certificate compression, Encrypted ClientHello, post-quantum cryptography, and performance improvements.

Heiko Tietze has published a blog post summarizing the results of a recent survey about the use of LibreOffice's database application, Base. 455 people participated in the survey, including more than 330 who use Base on Linux, with use cases ranging from maintaining records of personal media such as CDs or DVDs to use enterprise-resource planning (ERP) and finance. Of course, users had many ideas how to improve the application:

The majority asks for improvements to the user interface with less clutter and a more attractive design. The workflow and user experience should become either simplified or more powerful, depending on the expertise and the scenario. For example, an elaborate search function is something that many people expect. [...]

Almost the same number of answers requests bug fixes, improvements to stability, and better performance. Issues with queries, forms, and reports were mentioned equally often. In this regard, many replies suggest to remove the Java dependencies.

Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (expat, glib2, microcode_ctl, mrtg, pam, redis, thunderbird, and valkey), Debian (fort-validator, gst-plugins-base1.0, kernel, and slurm-wlm), Fedora (complyctl, libevent, openvpn, and tar), Mageia (dovecot and spice-vdagent), Red Hat (ignition, opentelemetry-collector, and osbuild-composer), SUSE (amazon-ssm-agent, aws-nitro-enclaves-cli, bzip2, cadvisor, chromium, curl, distribution-registry, emacs, freeciv, fuse-overlayfs, gh, google-guest-agent, GraphicsMagick, hauler, insighttoolkit-devel, java-17-openjdk, libidn, libusb-1_0, libvirt, libvncserver, libzypp, zypper, lkl, lxd, multipath-tools, NetworkManager, perl-Net-DNS, perl-URI, python, python-authlib, python-sqlparse, python-tornado, python3, rpcbind, supergfxctl, systemd, terraform-provider-null, ucode-intel, wget, wireshark, and xen), and Ubuntu (curl, ffmpeg, glibc, hsqldb1.8.0, imagemagick, perl, and vim).

Version 12 of the Jellyfin media-management system has been released. Notable changes include database performance improvements, an upgrade to FFmpeg 8.1 for media transcoding, as well as better handling of book and comic media. See the release notes for the web client and server for a full list of changes.

Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (expat, git-lfs, grafana-pcp, kernel-rt, python3.14-cryptography, redis:6, skopeo, and xmlrpc-c), Debian (jbig2dec and strongswan), Fedora (baresip, chirp, chromium, corosync, emacs, GitPython, libre, libsoup3, nsd, perl-Net-OAuth, and perl-XML-Bare), Mageia (apache-mod_auth_openidc, exiv2, freerdp, python-pyasn1, and tor), Red Hat (buildah, cockpit-image-builder, container-tools:rhel8, containernetworking-plugins, delve, linux-sgx, osbuild-composer, pcs, and runc), SUSE (amazon-cloudwatch-agent, aws-nitro-enclaves-cli, bzip2, c-ares, curl, dracut, emacs, fuse-overlayfs, gegl, GraphicsMagick, httpcomponents-client, java-1_8_0-openjdk, java-25-openjdk, lcms2, libidn, libusb-1_0, LibVNCServer, microcode_ctl, multipath-tools, NetworkManager, nghttp2, openexr, openssl-1_1, openssl-3, perl-URI, php-composer2, postgresql15, postgresql17, postgresql18, python-GitPython, python-tornado6, python313-pip, redis, redis7, ucode-intel, wget, and wireshark), and Ubuntu (gzip and php7.0).

The European Laboratory for Particle Physics, usually just called CERN, is not only the birthplace of the World Wide Web, it is home to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. As such, its computing environment is both truly unique and of great interest to people outside of CERN who hope to find lessons applicable to their own computing needs. The upcoming migration of some of CERN's systems from CentOS Linux to Debian, which was the topic of a talk at the recent MiniDebConf Winterthur 2026, is of particular interest.

Greg Kroah-Hartman has announced the release of the 7.2.4, 6.18.50, and 6.12.109 stable kernels. Each contains important fixes throughout the tree. Users are advised to upgrade.

Version 2026.08 of the Buildroot embedded Linux system builder has been released. Buildroot 2026.08 includes nearly 1,000 changes from 100 contributors; some of the notable changes include support for Linux 7.1.x, Binutils 2.46.1, GCC 16.2.0, glibc 2.44, as well as adding the M68K and IBM Power 10/11 architectures.

Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (buildah, freerdp, gegl04, go-fdo-client, grafana, grafana-pcp, kernel, and pipewire), Debian (aom, chromium, libde265, libssh2, thunderbird, and tryton-server), Fedora (chromium, composer, cosmic-greeter, gegl04, greetd, ibus-table, jss, libheif, lightdm, lxdm, memcached, perl-DBD-Pg, plasma-login-manager, rust-webbrowser, sddm, selinux-policy, slitherer, and tkimg), Mageia (expat, mingw-expat, mbedtls, microcode, python-linkify-it-py, and tomcat), Oracle (buildah, container-tools:ol8, dbus-broker, freerdp, go-toolset:ol8, grafana-pcp, kernel, kernel-uek, nodejs24, php, and pipewire), Slackware (libpcap, libxml2, mozilla-firefox, mozilla-thunderbird, and util-linux), SUSE (bson-devel, busybox, bzip2, c-ares, cpio, cups-filters, dracut, ffmpeg-7, ffmpeg-8, file-roller, firefox, firefox-esr, glances-common, grafana, hauler, helm, helm3, java-17-openjdk, java-21-openjdk, lcms2, libcupsfilters, libheif, libmsgpack-c2, libsoup, libsoup2, libusb-1_0, libvirt, LibVNCServer, mcphost, ollama, opencode, openssl-1_1, openssl-3, php-composer2, podman, postgresql15, postgresql17, postgresql18, python, python-aiohttp, python-h2, python-sqlparse, python310, rpcbind, sssd, thunderbird, trivy, ucode-intel, and webkit2gtk3), and Ubuntu (linux, linux-aws, linux-aws-7.0, linux-gcp, linux-gke, linux-hwe-7.0, linux-realtime, linux, linux-aws, linux-fips, linux-kvm, linux-lts-xenial, linux, linux-fips, linux-gcp, linux-gcp-fips, linux-gke, linux-gkeop, linux-nvidia, linux-nvidia-6.8, linux-nvidia-lowlatency, linux-raspi, linux-realtime, linux-realtime-6.8, linux, linux-gcp, linux-gcp-fips, linux-gke, linux-gkeop, linux-hwe-5.15, linux-ibm, linux-ibm-5.15, linux-intel-iot-realtime, linux-lowlatency, linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15, linux-nvidia, linux-nvidia-tegra, linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15, linux-realtime, linux-aws-5.4, linux-gcp, linux-gcp-5.4, linux-gcp-7.0, linux-oem-7.0, minetest, and miniupnpd).

The Asahi Linux project has announced that support for Apple's M3-series chips has been added to the Asahi installer.

Linux support for M3 series SoCs and the machines powered by them is now in a state where almost everything supported on the M1 and M2 series machines just works. This includes the webcam, internal microphones, USB (up to the hardware limit of USB 3 10 Gb/s), hardware accelerated video decoding including support for AV1, WiFi, Bluetooth, and much more! The only major exceptions remain full DCP support and the GPU, which we will have more news on in the coming months. Do not expect performant or power-efficient 3D acceleration right now.

See the blog post for other current limitations of M3 support.

Version 2026.09, code-named "Hättiwaritätti", of the Debian-based Grml live Linux distribution for system administrators has been released. It is based on packages from the upcoming Debian 14 ("forky") release. Notable changes include an update to the Linux 7.1.8 kernel, support for booting from exfat-formatted USB devices, and an update to GNU Screen 5.0.1.

Security updates have been issued by Debian (chromium, firefox-esr, and pcre2), Fedora (cockpit, expat, freeipa, kbd, kernel, mrtg, python-pip, and valkey), Mageia (libopenmpt and python-gitpython), Oracle (dbus-broker, freerdp, gegl, gegl04, gimp:2.8, go-fdo-client, go-fdo-server, golang-github-openprinting-ipp-usb, grafana, gzip, image-builder, iperf3, kernel, libssh, libxml2, microcode_ctl, nodejs:22, nodejs:24, openssl-fips-provider, pam, php:7.4, php:8.2, tar, and wget), SUSE (apache2-mod_auth_openidc, apptainer, busybox, cpio, cups-filters, curl, dracut, ffmpeg, file-roller, glibc, grafana, kubevirt, virt-pr-helper-container, lcms2, libtree-sitter0_26, libvirt, postgresql14, postgresql15, postgresql16, postgresql18, suseconnect-ng, terraform-provider-susepubliccloud, and yast2-users), and Ubuntu (FFmpeg, gnupg2, librabbitmq, libssh2, openssh, and spice-vdagent).

Version 4.0 of the Audacity audio editor has been released. Notable changes in this release include a rewritten interface using Qt, ability to save user-interface layouts as "Workspaces", improvements in working with audio clips, and a new .aup4 project format.

The release is not fully feature-compatible with the Audacity 3.x series; see the compatibility notes for a list of missing features.

Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (freerdp, go-fdo-server, golang-github-openprinting-ipp-usb, kernel, kernel-rt, nodejs:24, perl-DBI, and php), Debian (firefox-esr, libapache2-mod-auth-openidc, and libass), Fedora (dracut, exiv2, firefox, freerdp, gvfs, mingw-expat, mingw-gstreamer1, mingw-gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free, mingw-gstreamer1-plugins-base, mingw-gstreamer1-plugins-good, mingw-openexr, nss, proftpd, and syncthing), Mageia (apr-util, bubblewrap, libalsa2, libarchive, perl-Net-OAuth, perl-Text-CSV_XS, perl-XML-Bare, and perl-YAML-Syck), Oracle (freerdp, gimp, golang, iperf3, nginx:1.24, nodejs:22, nodejs:24, pipewire, wget, xmlrpc-c, and xorg-x11-server-Xwayland), SUSE (apache2-mod_auth_openidc, apptainer, apr-util, bzip2, c-ares, cosign, dhcpcd, dovecot22, emacs, erlang, gegl, gopass, gzip, httpcomponents-client, incus, kernel-devel, libgpg-error, libsoup2, mozillafirefox, mozilla-nss, mozilla-nspr,, MozillaFirefox, mozilla-nss, mozilla-nspr, rust-cbindgen, nodejs20, orthanc, orthanc-authorization, orthanc-postgresql,, postgresql14, python-cryptography, python-msgpack, quagga, snpguest, snphost, texlive, tuxguitar, udisks2, vim, wget, and yast2-users), and Ubuntu (apr-util, biosig, linux, linux-aws, linux-azure, linux-azure-fips, linux-fips, linux-hwe-5.4, linux-ibm, linux-ibm-5.4, linux-iot, linux-kvm, linux-oracle, linux-raspi, linux-raspi-5.4, linux-xilinx-zynqmp, linux-aws-5.15, linux-gcp-5.15, linux-oracle-5.4, sssd, and tika).

Inside this week's LWN.net Weekly Edition:

• Front: Python JIT; rnull block driver; steal time; GNOME governance; 7.3 merge window; LUKS.
• Briefs: Kernel infrastructure; Debian AI; Dolphin 26.08; Firefox 155; Incus 7.4; OpenShot 4.0; Quotes; ...
• Announcements: Newsletters, conferences, security updates, patches, and more.

Emmanuele Bassi kicked off a project to improve GNOME's technical governance with a presentation about his ideas (video) at GUADEC 2025. His nudging has led the project to, slowly, work on creating more formal structures for technical governance. It is adopting a teams structure and looking toward creating a steering committee, as well as bootstrapping a Request for Comments (RFC) process. If adopted, GNOME would require RFCs for design, user experience, architectural, and other changes that carry a major impact on the project.

Version 7.4 of the Incus container and virtual-machine management system has been released. Notable changes in this release include UEFI Secure Boot key management, "near-live" migration of containers between Incus instances, as well as burst I/O limits for disk and network devices.

Greg Kroah-Hartman has announced the 7.2.3, 7.1.13, 6.18.49, 6.12.108, 6.6.156, 6.1.187, 5.15.220, and 5.10.269 stable kernels. Each contains a number of important fixes throughout the tree. Users are advised to upgrade.

Note that 7.1.13 is the last of the 7.1 updates

Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (dbus-broker, freerdp, gegl, gegl04, gimp, gimp:2.8, glib2, grafana, gzip, iperf3, libssh, nodejs22, nodejs24, nodejs:22, nodejs:24, php:7.4, php:8.2, pipewire, ruby:3.3, ruby:4.0, tar, wget, and xmlrpc-c), Debian (cyrus-imapd, keystone, and lemonldap-ng), Fedora (bubblewrap, cockpit, emacs, gdk-pixbuf2, openssl, openvkl, python-linkify-it-py, python-llm, and rkcommon), Gentoo (Chromium, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Vivaldi), Oracle (glib2, gzip, mingw-sqlite, nodejs22, xorg-x11-server, and xorg-x11-server-Xwayland), Red Hat (go-toolset:rhel8, golang, and grafana), Slackware (pcre2), SUSE (apache2-mod_auth_openidc, busybox, cups-filters, java-17-openj9, java-1_8_0-openj9, libapr-util1, libgcrypt, python-sqlparse, python3-sqlparse, python313-uv, terraform-provider-aws, terraform-provider-azurerm, terraform-provider-external, terraform-provider-google, terraform-provider-helm, terraform-provider-kubernetes, terraform-provid, ucode-intel, wicked, and yast2-auth-client), and Ubuntu (libevent, libgcrypt20, ncurses, opencryptoki, pam, pyasn1, rust-sudo-rs, and ubuntu-advantage-tools).

In 2024 the Python 3.13 release added an experimental just-in-time (JIT) compiler to optimize the way that CPython executes Python code. Since then, work has proceeded on the JIT, albeit perhaps less formally than some might like. In June, Python's steering council (SC) put out an announcement that no new development on the JIT land (with the exception of bug and security fixes) in Python's main branch, until it accepts a Python Enhancement Proposal (PEP) that would make the case for the JIT as a supported part of CPython. That has led to the creation of PEP 836 ("JIT Go Brrr: The Path to a Supported JIT Compiler for CPython"), which is currently under discussion. As it stands, it seems likely that work on JIT will continue, but when that will happen is less certain.