Linux kernel latest version

The Linux Kernel Archives

There are several main categories into which kernel releases may fall:

Prepatch Prepatch or «RC» kernels are mainline kernel pre-releases that are mostly aimed at other kernel developers and Linux enthusiasts. They must be compiled from source and usually contain new features that must be tested before they can be put into a stable release. Prepatch kernels are maintained and released by Linus Torvalds. Mainline Mainline tree is maintained by Linus Torvalds. It’s the tree where all new features are introduced and where all the exciting new development happens. New mainline kernels are released every 2-3 months. Stable After each mainline kernel is released, it is considered «stable.» Any bug fixes for a stable kernel are backported from the mainline tree and applied by a designated stable kernel maintainer. There are usually only a few bugfix kernel releases until next mainline kernel becomes available — unless it is designated a «longterm maintenance kernel.» Stable kernel updates are released on as-needed basis, usually once a week. Longterm There are usually several «longterm maintenance» kernel releases provided for the purposes of backporting bugfixes for older kernel trees. Only important bugfixes are applied to such kernels and they don’t usually see very frequent releases, especially for older trees.

Longterm release kernels

Version	Maintainer	Released	Projected EOL
5.10	Greg Kroah-Hartman & Sasha Levin	2020-12-13	Dec, 2026
5.4	Greg Kroah-Hartman & Sasha Levin	2019-11-24	Dec, 2025
4.19	Greg Kroah-Hartman & Sasha Levin	2018-10-22	Dec, 2024
4.14	Greg Kroah-Hartman & Sasha Levin	2017-11-12	Jan, 2024
4.9	Greg Kroah-Hartman & Sasha Levin	2016-12-11	Jan, 2023
4.4	Greg Kroah-Hartman & Sasha Levin	2016-01-10	Feb, 2022

Distribution kernels

Many Linux distributions provide their own «longterm maintenance» kernels that may or may not be based on those maintained by kernel developers. These kernel releases are not hosted at kernel.org and kernel developers can provide no support for them.

It is easy to tell if you are running a distribution kernel. Unless you downloaded, compiled and installed your own version of kernel from kernel.org, you are running a distribution kernel. To find out the version of your kernel, run uname -r :

If you see anything at all after the dash, you are running a distribution kernel. Please use the support channels offered by your distribution vendor to obtain kernel support.

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How to install the latest/stable version of Linux kernel on Ubuntu Linux using apt-get

Method #1: Search and install the latest stable version

I tested this method on the following version of Ubuntu:

To find out your current version of Linux kernel, run:
$ uname -mrs
Linux 4.4.0-83-generic x86_64
To find out the latest version of Linux kernel type:
$ apt-cache search linux-generic
Sample outputs:

The highest possible version is 4.10.0-27. To install it just type the following apt-get command/apt command:
$ sudo apt install linux-image-4.10.0-27-generic
OR
$ sudo apt-get install linux-image-4.10.0-27-generic
Sample outputs:

You must reboot the Linux server, run:
$ rm *.deb
$ sudo reboot
Verify new version:
$ uname -mrs
Linux 4.10.0-27-generic x86_64

Method #2: Install mainline kernel version v4.12.3

First, if one is using select proprietary or out-of-tree modules (ex. vitualbox, nvidia, fglrx, bcmwl, etc.) unless there is an extra package available for the version you are testing, you will need to uninstall the module first, in order to test the mainline kernel. If you do not uninstall these modules first, then the upstream kernel more than likely will not boot.

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First visit kernel.org and note down the latest kernel version:

Fig.01: Note down kernel version

Fig.02: Downloading the latest build of mainline kernel

kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.12.3/linux-headers-4.12.3-041203-generic_4.12.3-041203.201707210343_amd64.deb
$ wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/

kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.12.3/linux-image-4.12.3-041203-generic_4.12.3-041203.201707210343_amd64.deb
To verify the mainline build binaries, run:
$ wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/

kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.12.3/CHECKSUMS
$ sha256sum —ignore-missing -c CHECKSUMS
Sample outputs:

You must see OK for all downloaded .deb files. Next, you need to install .deb files using dpkg command:
$ sudo dpkg -i *.deb
You must reboot the Linux server, run:
$ sudo reboot
Verify new version:
$ uname -mrs
Linux 4.12.3 -041203-generic x86_64

A note about updating mainline kernel

You must visit and download the latest version from the following url:
http://kernel.ubuntu.com/

kernel-ppa/mainline/
For example, download v4.13-rc1 as follows:
$ rm *.deb
$ wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/

kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.13-rc1/linux-headers-4.13.0-041300rc1-generic_4.13.0-041300rc1.201707151931_amd64.deb
$ wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/

kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.13-rc1/linux-image-4.13.0-041300rc1-generic_4.13.0-041300rc1.201707151931_amd64.deb
$ wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/

kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.12.3/CHECKSUMS
$ sha256sum —ignore-missing -c CHECKSUMS
$ sudo dpkg -i *.deb
$ sudo reboot
$ uname -mrs

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Comments on this entry are closed.

You don’t have Docker support with this kernel version (v4.12.3).

If you install version 4.10.0-27, Docker will work well.

Hi,
About the method #1…
According to [1] and [2], in order to get a kernel as newer as possible in a most convenient way, you should install “linux-signed-generic-lts-XXX” (e.g., “linux-signed-generic-lts-xenial”) or unsigned version “linux-generic-lts-XXX” (e.g., “linux-generic-lts-xenial”) for Ubuntu before LTS 16.04, even prefer to install the newer “linux-signed-generic-hwe-16.04” or even more bleeding edge “linux-signed-generic-hwe-16.04-edge” for Ubuntu LTS 16.04 and newer; instead of specifying a version of linux kernel image package which won’t be automatically updated via “apt update/upgrade”. In this way, it will keep your kernel up to date as possible.

Some example commands to find out the proper kernel package name in Ubuntu:

$ apt-cache search linux-signed-generic-lts
linux-signed-generic-lts-utopic — Complete Signed Generic Linux kernel and headers (dummy transitional package)
linux-signed-generic-lts-vivid — Complete Signed Generic Linux kernel and headers (dummy transitional package)
linux-signed-generic-lts-wily — Complete Signed Generic Linux kernel and headers (dummy transitional package)
linux-signed-generic-lts-xenial — Complete Signed Generic Linux kernel and headers (dummy transitional package)
AND
$ apt-cache search linux-generic-lts
linux-generic-lts-utopic — Complete Generic Linux kernel and headers (dummy transitional package)
linux-generic-lts-vivid — Complete Generic Linux kernel and headers (dummy transitional package)
linux-generic-lts-wily — Complete Generic Linux kernel and headers (dummy transitional package)
linux-generic-lts-xenial — Complete Generic Linux kernel and headers (dummy transitional package)
AND
$ apt-cache search linux-signed-generic-hwe
linux-signed-generic-hwe-16.04 — Complete Signed Generic Linux kernel and headers
linux-signed-generic-hwe-16.04-edge — Complete Signed Generic Linux kernel and headers
$ apt-cache search linux-generic-hwe
linux-generic-hwe-16.04 — Complete Generic Linux kernel and headers
linux-generic-hwe-16.04-edge — Complete Generic Linux kernel and headers

Thanks for the article! I never leave comments but this was useful

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The Linux Kernel documentation¶

This is the top level of the kernel’s documentation tree. Kernel documentation, like the kernel itself, is very much a work in progress; that is especially true as we work to integrate our many scattered documents into a coherent whole. Please note that improvements to the documentation are welcome; join the linux-doc list at vger.kernel.org if you want to help out.

Licensing documentation¶

The following describes the license of the Linux kernel source code (GPLv2), how to properly mark the license of individual files in the source tree, as well as links to the full license text.

User-oriented documentation¶

The following manuals are written for users of the kernel — those who are trying to get it to work optimally on a given system.

Firmware-related documentation¶

The following holds information on the kernel’s expectations regarding the platform firmwares.

Application-developer documentation¶

The user-space API manual gathers together documents describing aspects of the kernel interface as seen by application developers.

Introduction to kernel development¶

These manuals contain overall information about how to develop the kernel. The kernel community is quite large, with thousands of developers contributing over the course of a year. As with any large community, knowing how things are done will make the process of getting your changes merged much easier.

Kernel API documentation¶

These books get into the details of how specific kernel subsystems work from the point of view of a kernel developer. Much of the information here is taken directly from the kernel source, with supplemental material added as needed (or at least as we managed to add it — probably not all that is needed).

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3 Ways to Check Linux Kernel Version in Command Line

Last updated October 29, 2020 By Abhishek Prakash 25 Comments

Brief: Wondering which Linux kernel version your system uses? Here are several ways to check your kernel version in the Linux terminal.

You may find yourself in a situation where you need to know the exact Linux kernel version being used on your system. Thanks to the powerful Linux command line, you can easily find that out.

Quick way to check Linux kernel version

You can use the following command to get the Linux kernel version:

uname -r

There are other ways to get even more detailed information about kernel. Read the rest of the article to learn it in detail.

In this article, I’ll show you various methods for finding out your kernel version and tell you what those numbers actually mean. If you prefer videos, here’s a quick one. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more Linux tips.

How to find Linux kernel version

I am using Ubuntu while writing this article. But these commands are generic and can be used on Fedora, Debian, CentOS, SUSE Linux or any other Linux distribution.

1. Find Linux kernel using uname command

uname is the Linux command for getting system information. You can also use it to find out whether you’re using a 32-bit or 64-bit system.

Open a terminal and type in the following command:

The output will be something similar to this:

This means that you’re running Linux kernel 4.4.0-97, or in more generic terms, you are running Linux kernel version 4.4.

But what do the other digits mean here? Let me explain:

• 4 – Kernel version
• 4 – Major revision
• 0 – Minor revision
• 97 – Bug fix
• generic – Distribution-specific string. For Ubuntu, it means I’m using the desktop version. For Ubuntu server edition, it would be ‘server’.

You can also use the uname command with the option -a. This will provide more system information if you need it.

The output of the command should like this:

Let me explain the output and what it means:

• Linux – Kernel name. If you run the same command on BSD or macOS, the result will be different.
• itsfoss – Hostname.
• 4.4.0-97-generic – Kernel release (as we saw above).
• #120-Ubuntu SMP Tue Sep 19 17:28:18 UTC 2017 – This means that Ubuntu has compiled 4.4.0-97-generic 120 times. A timestamp for the last compilation is also there.
• x86_64 – Machine architecture.
• x86_64 – Processor architecture.
• x86_64 – Operating system architecture (you can run a 32-bit OS on a 64-bit processor).
• GNU/Linux – Operating system (and no, it won’t show the distribution name).

But I’ll save you from information overload. Let’s see some other commands to find your Linux kernel version.

2. Find Linux kernel using /proc/version file

In Linux, you can also find the kernel information in the file /proc/version. Just look at the contents of this file:

You’ll see an output similar to what you saw with uname.

You can see the kernel version 4.4.0-97-generic here.

3. Find Linux kernel version using dmesg commad

dmesg is a powerful command used for writing kernel messages. It’s also very useful for getting system information.

Since dmesg provides an awful lot of information, you should normally use a command like less to read it. But since we’re here just to check the Linux kernel version, grepping on ‘Linux’ should give the desired output.

The output will have a few lines but you should be able to identify the Linux kernel version there easily.

How do you check your Linux kernel version and other information?

Of the three ways discussed here, I use uname all the time. It’s the most convenient.

What about you? Which command do you prefer for getting Linux kernel information?

Like what you read? Please share it with others.

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