Long-Term Support Linux Kernels December 2024
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As expected, the recently released Linux 6.12 will be the next Long-Term Support (LTS) version of the Linux kernel, according to Greg Kroah-Hartman, Linux kernel stable maintainer.
This new LTS kernel comes with many useful new features, the most significant being the inclusion of real-time support in the mainline kernel, which — after 20 years of work — dramatically improves the performance of real-time applications.
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Other noteworthy additions include a new extensible scheduler, sched_ext, which leverages eBPF in kernel virtualization technology and grants users more control over process scheduling and prioritization. In addition, 6.12 is giving us QR error codes for Linux’s kernel and the Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) panic screens. This makes debugging Linux failures much easier than navigating a flood of text error messages.
Linux kernels used to have a six-year lifespan. This was cut to two because people were not using the older kernels. In addition, maintaining older kernels wasn’t easy, and Linux code maintainers were burning out.
Linux 6.12’s selection came as no surprise because, in recent years, the last kernel release of the year is usually selected as the next LTS kernel. This version will receive extended maintenance and security updates for at least two years.
It’s not just the timing, though. Long-term kernels are selected based on factors such as major new features, popular commercial distribution needs, device manufacturer demand, maintainer workload, and availability. If there’s a lot of interest in it, an LTS kernel’s lifespan may also last longer than two years.
Security updates are a big reason to use LTS kernels. According to Jonathan Corbet, Linux kernel developer and LWN editor-in-chief, “In the kernel, just about any bug, if you’re clever enough, can be exploitable to compromise the system. The kernel is in a unique spot in the system … it turns a lot of ordinary bugs into vulnerabilities.”
Because of this, the LTS kernels are updated almost weekly. According to leading Linux developers, the best way to run a truly secure Linux kernel is to run an LTS kernel. As new security issues are patched, they’re immediately ported into the LTS kernels.
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Despite all these patches, LTS kernels prioritize stability over new features. They receive critical bug fixes and security patches without introducing potentially disruptive changes. This makes them ideal for servers, embedded systems, or any system that requires long-term stability.
Some users, especially those who prefer using the same Linux distribution for not mere years but a decade or more, want more than a two-year support window. For them, some Linux distributors offer extended support for the LTS kernels. For example, Ubuntu offers Legacy Support for up to 12 years. For example, if you want to run the latest LTS Ubuntu release, Ubuntu 24.04, until 2036, you can. In addition, OpenELA still supports — for now — the long-out-of-date but popular Linux 4.14 kernel.
I recommend that most people run a Linux distribution based on an LTS kernel. It’s simply safer that way.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
