Linus Torvalds released Linux kernel 6.18, which brings a wide set of hardware enablements, virtualization improvements, and file system updates. The most notable change in this cycle is the removal of the Bcachefs file system. KVM x86 CET virtualization support was added so virtual machines can make use of Intel and AMD control-flow security features, and the kernel can now run as a guest on FreeBSD’s Bhyve hypervisor. AMD receives several virtualization enhancements, including Secure AVIC support, and a new dm-pcache feature lets persistent memory accelerate slower storage devices.
File systems receive multiple targeted updates. Btrfs gains initial support for larger block sizes, XFS now enables online file system checking by default, and EXT4 adds new management capabilities. OverlayFS picks up case-folding support to improve compatibility. The release also includes new and updated drivers: Intel USBIO drivers are now included, Wildcat Lake graphics gain support, and new Tyr and Rocket drivers were added alongside additional AMD Versal platform drivers. the Rust Binder driver is now supported as well.
Laptop and platform support expands with initial haptic touchpad support and new hardware enablements such as DualSense PlayStation controller audio jacks and Apple M2 Pro, M2 Max, and M2 Ultra chips. Intel’s Alder Lake-S processors, including the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K, also gain support. performance and scalability improvements arrive via Sheaves, which speeds up kernel memory allocation, faster swap handling, better NFS server scaling, and improved UDP network performance. x86 systems get a new option to control microcode loading. Linux 6.18 could become the next long-term support kernel, though that has not been confirmed. Development for Linux 6.19 starts now, with the first test version expected on December 14th.
