The newest stable build of Samba 4.22 has been released with several bug fixes that address issues with file shares and Winbind lookups. The updates resolve problems such as an empty search box on macOS clients after a driver refresh, memory leaks in rpc_spoolss, and improper group enumeration for mixed-mode environments. However, some issues still remain to be addressed, including a typo in the manpage for net offlinejoin command and incorrect socket description for ctdbd. To upgrade from Samba 4.22.7, download the tarball and matching signature file, verify authenticity using gpg, extract the archive, configure and build the new code, and restart smbd and winbind services.

Samba 4.22.8 Release – What’s Fixed and How to Upgrade

The newest stable build of Samba 4.22 drops a handful of nasty bugs that have been tripping up file shares and Winbind lookups. This article points out the most painful fixes, shows where to grab the tarball, and walks through a clean upgrade without resorting to a checklist.

Highlights from 4.22.8

The Spotlight default‑search field bug finally got squashed – admins who saw empty search boxes on macOS clients after a recent driver refresh reported that shares appeared but nothing could be found. The patch now initializes the field correctly, so searching works again out of the box. Memory‑leak complaints around rpc_spoolss have also been addressed; both the original report and a duplicate from a different maintainer pointed to the same leak path, and the new code releases the allocated buffers promptly. Winbind group resolution was another headache – some domains returned no groups at all, which broke login scripts that rely on “id -Gn”. The fix restores proper group enumeration for mixed‑mode environments.

What still needs attention

The release notes still warn about a typo in the manpage for the net offlinejoin command; the documentation mentions credentials that aren’t actually used. It’s harmless but confusing if you’re typing examples from the help output. Also, the ctdbd socket description is wrong – the socket lives under /var/run/ctdbd.sock rather than the path shown in older docs.

Upgrading from 4.22.7

First, pull the latest tarball. The file name will end with “samba‑4.22.8.tar.gz”. Next, download the matching .asc signature file and run gpg --verify samba-4.22.8.tar.gz.asc samba-4.22.8.tar.gz to make sure the package really comes from the Samba team (the key ID is AA99442FB680B620). After confirming authenticity, extract the archive with tar xzf samba-4.22.8.tar.gz and change into the new directory. Running ./configure with your usual options prepares the build; then make && sudo make install will replace the binaries while preserving existing configuration files in /etc/samba. Finally, restart the smbd and winbind services so the fresh code picks up the running daemons.

Where to find more information

Here is the full changelog. Any lingering quirks can be discussed on the samba‑technical mailing list or in the #samba‑technical room on Matrix. If you hit a reproducible problem, file a detailed bug report in Samba’s Bugzilla – vague tickets tend to disappear into the void.