KERNEL WATCH
Jon Masters summarises the latest happenings in the Linux kernel, because someone has to…
Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux 5.17-rc8, which will likely be the final RC (Release Candidate) prior to the final 5.17 going out. Linus noted that he had thought he would be “releasing the final 5.17 today”, instead of another (rare) 8th RC. But that was before the latest “Spectre” security vulnerability went public and with it a dash to get various patches out, backported, and merged into Linux.
The kernel development process is optimised around open development, including all of the assorted testing automation as well as more bespoke user testing that tends to occur against RC kernels. When that goes away due to an embargo, developers responsible for working on fixes in secret do an amazing job, but they can’t always consider every possible way in which those patches might be used.