Linux Kernel 5.4.302 released
The curtain call has finally arrived for Linux's 5.4 branch, marked by the release of 5.4.302, which is a milestone that serves as a stark reminder to upgrade to more recent kernel versions. However, this update is not merely a routine one; it also carries its own set of challenges. A staggering number of over 1500 known unfixed Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) accompany this release, which will only continue to grow in time.
Beyond marking the branch's conclusion, this release itself brings some important fixes from testing older systems or simply wanting to keep things secure on existing ones. It includes a good number of patches aimed at ironing out wrinkles in various parts of the kernel, with different drivers and subsystems covered here. You can see numerous upstream commits logged for these changes; they come with details about who fixed them, when it landed in the mainline codebase, and some notes on what went wrong.
Specific issues tackled include a fix for a potential buffer mishandling issue in the Pegasus-notetaker driver from contributor Seungjin Bae. Improper size checking during certain parses could have led to problems there; now they're handled properly. Also addressed was an outdated parameter quietly removed from the usb_maxpacket() function, a small change, but part of cleaning things up and encouraging moves towards newer coding standards.
There's more substantial work too: patches specifically targeting memory leaks and crashes in some areas, like device registration routines, were included. They even fixed those tricky double-free errors that can happen during system resource management in the SCSI stack or networking subsystems.
On the broader systems side, we saw additional tweaks to prevent use-after-free situations and clean up error states within socket connections (especially with virtual socket, VSOCK). This helps keep things running smoothly without unexpected crashes or hangs. And crucially, there's a focus on managing references and pointers better across subsystems, which is another layer added for improved reliability.
Many of these changes wouldn't exist without developers carefully submitting patches to fix specific problems they encountered while working with the kernel directly or maintaining dependent software. These contributions help bolster overall system stability and performance in subtle but vital ways.
Ultimately, this latest EOL point for 5.4 isn't just an administrative step; it highlights how necessary moving forward is within Linux development given its pace and focus on security improvements over time. The patches found here are evidence of that ongoing collective effort to keep the ecosystem reliable even as old support cycles close.
Linux kernel 5.4.302 released
Linux kernel version 5.4.302 is now available:
Full source: https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/linux-5.4.302.tar.xz
Patch: https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/patch-5.4.302.xz
PGP Signature: https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/linux-5.4.302.tar.sign
You can view the summary of the changes at the following URL:
https://git.kernel.org/stable/ds/v5.4.302/v5.4.301
