Linus Torvalds announced the third release candidate (RC3) for Linux Kernel 6.13 on December 15, 2024. The Linux Kernel 6.13-rc3 brings a variety of updates, fixes, and improvements across different subsystems.
This article provides a detailed overview of the key changes and updates in this release candidate.
Table of Contents
Overview of Linux 6.13-rc3
Linus Torvalds noted that the release candidate appears to be on track, with a regular number of commits and a slightly larger diff size.
The increase in diff size is primarily due to the revert of a Unicode change that affected a generated data file.
In the Linux Kernel 6.13-rc3 release announcement email, Linus wrote:
[…]
In fact, the diff is a bit on the larger side, but that is admittedly almost entirely due to the revert of a unicode change that then makes the diff large due to a generated data file.
[…]
Despite this, the overall development process remains stable, with most changes focusing on driver updates and bug fixes.
Key Highlights of the Release
XFS File System Updates
The XFS file system sees significant updates in this release. These updates address various issues, including:
- Fixing off-by-one errors in fsmap's end_daddr usage.
- Ensuring that quota directory inodes remain loaded.
- Separating healthy clearing masks during repair.
- Fixing null bno_hint handling in xfs_rtallocate_rtg.
- Updating btree keys correctly when splitting inode root blocks.
Driver and Hardware Updates
The release includes numerous updates to various drivers, covering areas such as sound, GPIO, networking, and more. Some notable changes include:
- Sound Drivers: Enhancements to USB sound drivers, including support for DSD output and fixes for raw DSD warnings.
- GPIO Drivers: Fixes for the Graniterapids GPIO driver, addressing crashes, incorrect BAR assignments, and other issues.
- Networking Drivers: Updates to drivers like lan969x, sparx5, and mlx5, focusing on performance improvements, cyclic dependency fixes, and error handling.
Bluetooth and WiFi Improvements
Bluetooth and WiFi subsystems receive several updates, including:
- Bluetooth: Fixes for SCO (Synchronous Connection Oriented) support, recursive locking issues, and transparent voice settings.
- WiFi: Fixes for queue stalls, station NSS capability initialization, and link ID management in cfg80211.
Security and BPF Updates
The release includes several security-related fixes and improvements, particularly in the BPF (Berkeley Packet Filter) subsystem:
- BPF: Fixes for potential error returns, packet data changes, and null dereference issues.
- Security: Updates to the futex system to fix user access on PowerPC.
Miscellaneous Fixes and Improvements
Other notable changes in this release include:
- ACPI and EFI: Fixes for memory resource type union access and initialization of machine environment in perf tools.
- Block Layer: Updates to the block layer, addressing issues like zone write plug BIO work, potential deadlocks, and error recovery.
- Performance Monitoring: Enhancements to perf tools, including fixes for build-id event recording and precise_ip fallback logic.
Try Linux Kernel 6.13 RC3
The Linux Kernel 6.13-rc3 release is a comprehensive update that addresses a wide range of issues and introduces improvements across various subsystems. You can expect a more robust and efficient kernel as the development cycle progresses.
The users and developers are advised to try the Linux Kernel 6.13-rc3 release by downloading it from the Kernel.org website or the Linus Torvalds's git tree and report back the issues if any.
