Linux 7.2 RC2 is expected to release this week

This week, Linux 7.2 is expected to complete the release candidate cycle with the second release candidate being planned for tomorrow’s release. Linux 7.1 was receiving updates to implement bug fixes and other general improvements to different kernel components.

When the second release candidate gets released, you’ll be able to experience some of the changes made since the first release candidate:

• Linux 7.2 RC2 will raise the RISC-V CPU core limit to 256 cores from 64 cores. This impacts static memory allocations and slightly increases kernel memory consumption. This was done at the request of SpacemiT as the RVA23 RISC-V server has been produced, which utilizes 128 cores in the SG2042-based Sophgo Pisces CPU. This core limit increase is applied to 64-bit builds for the new firmware. This doesn’t apply to older firmware.
• The BPF code in the kernel has been hardened against JIT spraying attacks. This increases security, as the indirect branch predictors now get flushed before reusing the JIT code.
• Various improvements made to the second release candidate

Release candidate versions of Linux are available in the source code form, and you can build the kernel for your system so that you can try it out and report any bugs that manifest, especially with new hardware.

Linux 7.2 RC2 is expected to be released early Monday.