AlmaLinux 9.8 and 10.2 Release Fixes CPU Spikes, Adds Legacy Drivers, and Ships Dual Versions Simultaneously
The AlmaLinux OS Foundation just dropped two stable releases on the same day for the first time ever, bringing AlmaLinux OS 9.8 "Olive Jaguar" and AlmaLinux OS 10.2 "Lavender Lion" to production environments immediately. This dual launch proves their build pipeline finally handles parallel release trains without choking, but the real win comes from specific fixes that address pain points sysadmins have been complaining about for months. Users get a critical kernel backport in version 9.8 to stop systemd from eating CPU cycles during task cleanup, while version 10.2 brings back support for older storage controllers and enables i686 userspace packages for legacy workloads.
AlmaLinux OS 9.8 "Olive Jaguar" Focuses on Stability and Kernel Fixes
AlmaLinux OS 9.8 arrives with kernel version 5.14.0-687.5.3.el9_8 and brings a host of updated module streams that keep development environments current without breaking production stability. Python developers can finally grab Python 3.14 as a new package, while database admins get fresh streams for MariaDB and PostgreSQL alongside Ruby updates. Node.js users benefit from the inclusion of version 24 in the module stream, which helps modernize application stacks running on this long-term support release. Container and virtualization tooling also sees refreshes across Podman, Buildah, libvirt, QEMU-KVM, and skopeo to match upstream improvements. Security remains a priority with patches for OpenSSL, OpenSSH, GnuTLS, SELinux policies, and crypto-policies applied across the board.
The standout feature in this release is an ALESCo-approved kernel backport that fixes excessive CPU consumption by systemd and ps during task cleanup. This issue originally got deferred to CentOS Stream 9 and eventually RHEL 9.9, but the foundation decided to ship the fix now rather than wait a quarter for upstream alignment. Anyone who has watched system monitoring tools spike to one hundred percent usage just because a batch job finished cleaning up temporary files will appreciate this patch landing immediately instead of being stuck on older kernels. Installation media supports Intel and AMD x86_64 processors as well as ARM64, IBM PowerPC, and IBM Z architectures, with torrents available for faster downloads across all platforms.
AlmaLinux OS 10.2 "Lavender Lion" Expands Hardware and Legacy Support
AlmaLinux OS 10.2 "Lavender Lion" pushes the envelope with kernel version 6.12.0-211.7.3.el10_2 and introduces a wave of new language and database packages that keep this rolling release ahead of the curve. Python 3.14 returns alongside PostgreSQL 18, MariaDB 11.8, Ruby 4.0, and PHP 8.4 to support modern application development needs. Desktop users get GNOME 49, while container and virtualization stacks receive updates to Podman, Buildah, libvirt, QEMU-KVM, and skopeo that mirror the improvements found in version 9.8. Security hardening continues with updates to OpenSSL, OpenSSH, SSSD, SELinux policies, crypto-policies, and Keylime for remote attestation workflows.
A notable addition is the inclusion of i686 userspace packages, which enables legacy 32-bit software execution on AlmaLinux 10. This feature first appeared in the Kitten 10 development stream back in April and now crosses into stable status to support CI pipelines and containerized workloads that still rely on older binaries. The release also maintains AlmaLinux's signature deviations from upstream, including Btrfs boot support, a default-enabled CRB repository for build roots, and a parallel x86_64_v2 build with matching EPEL coverage designed specifically for older hardware that lacks AVX-512 instructions.
The foundation also re-enables KVM for IBM POWER in the virtualization stack after it graduated from tech preview status, while frame pointers are turned back on by default to make system-wide profiling work out of the box without manual configuration. SPICE support returns for both server and client applications, and Firefox and Thunderbird now ship as regular RPMs in the system repositories instead of requiring external sources. Perhaps most importantly for infrastructure managers running older gear, 10.2 restores a long list of storage and networking drivers that upstream had disabled, including support for Adaptec, Dell PERC, HP, Mellanox, QLogic, Emulex, LSI, and Broadcom controllers. This expansion covers x86_64, x86_64_v2, ARM64, IBM PowerPC, and IBM Z architectures to ensure broad compatibility across diverse hardware environments.
Security Patches and Image Availability
Both releases ship with patches for a run of high-profile vulnerabilities that have surfaced over the last month, ensuring fresh installs and upgrades get immediate protection against known exploits. The included fixes address CVE-2026-31431 related to copy failures, the Dirty FRAG issue, Fragnesia identified as CVE-2026-46300, nginx Rift tracked under CVE-2026-42945, and SSH Keysign Pwn listed as CVE-2026-46333. Users upgrading from version 9.7 or 10.1 will receive these security updates alongside the rest of the release payload to close gaps before they can be exploited in production environments.
Beyond standard installation ISOs, the foundation provides a wide array of cloud, container, and live images for both versions to streamline deployment across different infrastructure types. Container users can access Platform and UBI alternatives through LXC and LXD formats, while developers working with virtualization tools get Vagrant boxes for Libvirt, VirtualBox, Hyper-V, VMWare, and Parallels environments. Cloud administrators benefit from optimized images for AWS EC2 instances, Azure VMs, Google Cloud, Generic Cloud-init setups, OpenNebula, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and Raspberry Pi devices. Windows Subsystem for Linux users can also grab pre-built images for x86_64 and AArch64 architectures to run AlmaLinux directly on local workstations without managing full virtual machines.
Grab the ISOs from the mirrors or grab a torrent if you prefer bandwidth efficiency, and get those systems updated before the next wave of CVEs hits. The dual release train is working, so keep an eye on the wiki for release notes as updates roll out. Happy patching.
