Phoronix
Independent Linux hardware news, graphics/compute drivers, benchmarks, and kernel developments.
Libinput Hit By Worrying Security Issues With Its Lua Plug-In System
Libinput added a Lua‑based plug‑in system in version 1.30 to let developers customize device events. Security researchers have now uncovered two critical flaws—CVE‑2026‑35093, a sandbox‑escape that loads unverified bytecode, and CVE‑2026‑35094, a use‑after‑free bug. Both affect the widely deployed input stack on X.Org and Wayland desktops. The vendor responded with patched releases libinput 1.31.1 and 1.30.3.
KDE Linux Hardening Their OS Against Updates Making Systems Unbootable
KDE Linux, the in‑house distribution showcasing the newest KDE Plasma features, markets itself as an atomically updated OS, promising seamless version switches and instant rollbacks. In March 2026 a regression in systemd 260 caused the update transfer to be skipped, leaving the...
MediaTek MT7927 "Filogic 380" WiFi Support Coming Together For Linux
MediaTek’s MT7927 (Filogic 380) chipset is gaining upstream Linux support for Wi‑Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 through the mt76 driver, thanks to developer Javier Tia. The driver has been reverse‑engineered and tested on ASUS, Lenovo, Foxconn and AMD RZ738 devices. It is now in...
Intel Announces The "Optimization Zone"
Intel unveiled the Optimization Zone, a GitHub‑hosted repository that consolidates performance tuning guides and best‑practice recipes for Intel data‑center hardware. The hub currently includes optimization recipes for workloads such as Apache Kafka, Cassandra, Redis, and Spark, and provides BIOS tunables,...
Coreboot 26.03 Released With Support For Intel Panther Lake
Coreboot released its 26.03 quarterly update, introducing full support for Intel’s Panther Lake Core Ultra 3 SoCs. The release also adds upstream compatibility for the Qotom qdnv01 mini‑PC, Siemens MC EHL7/EHL8 boards, and the Star Labs Starbook Horizon laptop. Additional enhancements include larger...
Open-Source RadeonSI+Rusticl Nearing Formal OpenCL 3.0 Conformance
The open‑source RadeonSI Gallium3D driver paired with the Rusticl OpenCL implementation has cleared every OpenCL 3.0 Conformance Test Suite case. This achievement could grant the first formal OpenCL certification to a modern AMD GPU—such as the RX 6700 XT—since AMD’s last submission in...
RADV Vulkan Video Adds Low-Latency Encode/Decode Options
The open‑source Mesa RADV Vulkan driver now includes low‑latency video encode and decode options, mirroring similar capabilities previously available only in the RadeonSI Gallium3D driver. Developers can activate these modes via the RADV_PERFTEST environment variable, choosing low‑latency decode, encode, or...
Intel Graphics Driver For Linux 7.1 Preps Workaround For Dell XPS Panther Lake Laptop
Intel’s drm‑intel‑next tree for the upcoming Linux 7.1 kernel adds a new quirk to disable Panel Replay on the Dell XPS 14 Panther Lake laptop. The change addresses laggy window dragging and other performance hiccups that appear after suspend when the device’s OLED panel...
AMD Revives Linux Kernel Patches For Hardware-Accelerated vIOMMU
AMD has revived its hardware‑accelerated virtual IOMMU (vIOMMU) patches for the Linux kernel, submitting a fresh set of 22 patches after an initial RFC in 2023 and a second iteration in early 2024. The updated patches, authored by Suravee Suthikulpanit,...
Intel Prepares Wireless Mode Support For QAT Gen6 Hardware
Intel is adding a dedicated wireless mode to its upcoming QuickAssist Technology (QAT) Gen6 accelerators, with support slated for the Linux 7.1 kernel. The new mode activates via a specific fuse bit and loads a separate firmware binary that handles...
RadeonSI Driver Lands Fixes For EDuke32 For Those Wanting To Enjoy Duke Nukem 3D In 2026
The open‑source RadeonSI Gallium3D driver recently received patches that resolve a long‑standing rendering problem for EDuke32 and its derivatives on AMD RDNA4 GPUs such as the RX 9070 XT. The issue stemmed from the engine allocating extremely large textures, which broke OpenGL...
AMD Introduces GAIA Agent UI For Privacy-First Web App For Local AI Agents
AMD has launched GAIA 0.17, introducing a privacy‑first Agent UI that runs entirely on Ryzen AI hardware without any cloud dependency. The Electron‑based web app lets users drag‑and‑drop documents, execute shell commands, browse files, and maintain session history, all while displaying...
DRBD Driver Working To Land ~15 Years Worth Of Changes Into The Linux Kernel
Developers at LINBIT are synchronizing the Distributed Replicated Block Device (DRBD) driver with the Linux kernel after roughly 15 years of divergence. They have staged a patch series of about 7,260 lines of code to bring the out‑of‑tree implementation up...
Framework Computer Steps Up Their Support For KDE
Framework Computer, known for its upgrade‑friendly modular laptops and the Ryzen AI Max Strix Halo desktop, announced it will become a KDE Patron. The company will contribute at least €5,000 (approximately $5,400) per year, meeting the sponsor threshold for firms with fewer than...
Linux Patches Posted To Fix ~2x Performance Drop For CPU Workloads On NVIDIA Vera Rubin
NVIDIA engineers identified a severe performance regression on the upcoming Vera Rubin CPUs, where enabling Simultaneous Multi‑Threading (SMT) caused up to a two‑fold slowdown for CPU‑intensive workloads. To address this, Linux kernel developer Andrea Righi submitted a patch series that...
AMDGPU Driver For Linux 7.1 Preps Debug Improvements, New Hardware IP
AMD has released a batch of AMDGPU and AMDKFD kernel driver patches targeting the upcoming Linux 7.1 release. The updates introduce a new DebugFS interface for 64‑bit PCIe registers, add support for the SMU 15.0.8 IP block, and bring a series of...
ASUS Armoury & HP WMI Drivers Add More Laptops Ahead Of Linux 7.0-rc6
The Linux 7.0‑rc6 merge introduces new ASUS Armoury and NB WMI driver support for several ROG laptops, as well as HP WMI driver updates for the Omen 16 series. These additions bring GPU switching, fan‑curve control, hot‑key mapping, and power‑profile exposure to the kernel....
AMD-Optimized Rocky Linux Distribution To Focus On AI & HPC Workloads
AMD and CIQ announced a joint effort to deliver AMD‑optimized Rocky Linux builds, targeting AI and high‑performance computing workloads. The distribution will integrate validated AMD drivers, the ROCm software stack, and support for Instinct GPUs, offering day‑zero deployment for enterprises....
XMMS Codebase Brought Back To Life By AI With GTK4 + GStreamer/PipeWire Port
Longtime Linux desktop fans saw XMMS, a Winamp‑inspired player, dormant for two decades until Red Hat’s Christian Schaller used AI to port its codebase from GTK2 and Esound to modern GTK4, GStreamer, and PipeWire. After months of limited progress with...
Linux's Sched_ext Will Prioritize Idle SMT Siblings For Better Performance
The Linux kernel’s extensible scheduler class sched_ext will now prioritize idle SMT siblings before other idle CPUs, altering the idle‑CPU selection policy. The change, slated for the Linux 7.1 merge window, first checks a sibling hyper‑thread, then same‑LLC, same‑NUMA, and finally any...
Loongson Linux Display Driver No Longer Orphaned
Loongson’s Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) driver for LS7A/LS2K SoCs is no longer orphaned, as a team of Loongson engineers has taken over its maintenance. The driver, which works with Vivante graphics IP via the open‑source Etnaviv stack, previously lacked upstream...
Sashiko Now Providing AI Reviews On Rust Code For The Linux Kernel
Google’s Gemini Pro‑powered AI reviewer Sashiko has expanded to monitor the rust‑for‑linux mailing list, automatically analyzing new Rust patches for the Linux kernel. The service currently operates without custom Rust prompts, but developers plan to add language‑specific rules and a Rust‑focused...
Linux Driver Being Worked On For Pulsar Gaming Mice
Open‑source developer Nikolas Koesling has submitted a patch proposing a new Linux HID driver, “hid‑pulsar,” for Pulsar’s wireless gaming mice. The driver enables battery‑level, voltage, and charging‑status reporting for models including X2 V2, X2H, X2A and Xlite V3. It was created by...
Linux 7.0 Lands Fix For Years Old Bug Affecting AMD Hainan GPUs
Linux 7.0 merged a long‑standing fix for AMD’s GCN 1.0 “Hainan” GPUs, which were experiencing hangs at high performance levels. The patch adjusts the max shader clock rules by adding the 0x6660 and 0x666F device IDs to both the legacy Radeon...
Dell Upstreams Firmware For The XPS Snapdragon X Elite Laptop
Dell has upstreamed the firmware for its 2024 XPS 13 9345 laptop, which runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon X1 Elite, into the linux‑firmware Git repository. Previously, Linux users had to extract the binary blobs from the Windows 11 partition, a hurdle only Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Elite avoided. The...
Ubuntu 26.04 Delivers Enhanced Performance For AMD Radeon Linux Gaming
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS preview demonstrates modest performance gains for AMD Radeon gaming compared with Ubuntu 25.10, leveraging Linux 6.19 and Mesa 26.0. The release also upgrades GNOME 49 to GNOME 50, adding Mutter desktop optimizations. Benchmarks run on a Ryzen 9 9950X3D paired with an RX 9070 XT show higher...
AMD Prototyping AMDGPU SVM Atop DRM_GPUSVM Framework
AMD engineers have released a proof‑of‑concept Shared Virtual Memory (SVM) implementation built on the new DRM_GPUSVM framework. The prototype, though basic, successfully passes the ROCR suite and most AMDKFD and HIP validation tests. It currently lacks advanced features such as...
Intel Ends Work On Open-Source kAFL-Fuzzer For Fuzzing VMs
Intel has officially archived the kAFL‑Fuzzer front‑end repository, ending development of its hardware‑assisted feedback fuzzer for x86 virtual machines. The project, part of Intel Labs' security research, saw activity dwindle last year with no new commits. While the core kAFL...
Meta Renewing Investment Into The Jemalloc Memory Allocator
Meta has announced a renewed commitment to the jemalloc memory allocator, a component it has used for nearly two decades across its infrastructure. The company plans to modernize the codebase, reduce technical debt, and enhance features such as the hugepage...
Canonical Plans To Integrate NVIDIA DOCA-OFED Into The Ubuntu Archive
Canonical announced that it will integrate NVIDIA's DOCA‑OFED networking framework into the Ubuntu archive, bringing the high‑speed RDMA and GPUDirect stack directly to the distribution. The move mirrors last year’s CUDA integration and aims to simplify driver deployment for HPC...
GNU C Library Lands X86_64 FMA'ed Cosh For A ~35% Improvement
The GNU C Library (glibc) now includes an FMA‑optimized implementation of the hyperbolic cosine function, cosh(), delivering roughly a 35% speed boost on x86_64‑v3 Intel and AMD CPUs. The change was merged by Linaro engineer Adhemerval Zanella alongside other core‑math...
Linux 7.1 Sched_ext To Add "SCX_ENQ_IMMED" For Tighter Control When Tasks Land On A CPU
The Linux kernel’s extensible scheduler class, sched_ext, is set to receive a new SCX_ENQ_IMMED flag in the upcoming 7.1 release. The flag forces tasks that can run immediately onto a local Dispatch Queue (DSQ) rather than queuing behind other work....
Fedora Workstation 44 Beta Benchmarks On The AMD Ryzen AI Max Framework Desktop
Fedora Workstation 44 Beta was benchmarked on a Framework Desktop equipped with the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, alongside Fedora 43 stock and Fedora 43 with recent updates. All tests used clean installations on identical hardware, allowing a direct performance comparison. The beta runs...
Imagination's Open-Source PowerVR Vulkan Driver Now Plays Nicely With Zink OpenGL
Imagination Technologies announced that its PowerVR Vulkan driver now runs on top of Zink in Mesa 26.1, delivering open‑source OpenGL support for PowerVR GPUs. The integration required completing Vulkan compliance gaps and adding Kernel Mode Setting Render Only (KMSRO) support, which...
Intel Graphics Driver Preps For UHBR DP Tunnels With Linux 7.1
Intel has submitted a new graphics driver pull request to DRM‑Next ahead of the Linux 7.1 merge window. The update, led by engineer Jani Nikula, adds PHY PLL verification, Panel Self‑Refresh tweaks for Lunar Lake, DSC improvements, and numerous bug fixes. Crucially,...
Lenovo Legion Go HID Drivers Queued Ahead Of Linux 7.1
Lenovo’s new HID drivers for the Legion Go and Go S series are slated for inclusion in the Linux 7.1 kernel. Developed by Derek Clark, the drivers expose controller features such as rumble, haptic feedback, RGB LEDs, calibration and touchpad settings via sysfs...
SuperTux 0.7 Released With Enhanced Graphics, Level Redesign
SuperTux 0.7, the first stable release since December 2021, launches with a major visual overhaul and redesigned levels. The update adds new sprites, abilities like slope sliding, rock rolling and crawling, plus a local multiplayer mode. Android support returns and...
Open-Source "GreenBoost" Driver Aims To Augment NVIDIA GPUs vRAM With System RAM & NVMe To Handle Larger LLMs
GreenBoost is an open‑source Linux kernel module that extends NVIDIA GPU VRAM by allocating pinned system RAM and NVMe storage as CUDA‑accessible memory. It pairs a kernel driver with an LD_PRELOAD shim that intercepts allocation calls, redirecting large buffers to...
Trying Out Snapdragon X Elite With The Acer Swift 14 AI Laptop On Ubuntu 26.04
Testing Ubuntu 26.04 on the Acer Swift 14 AI equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite revealed multiple regressions. The qcom‑firmware‑extract tool now refuses the device, and the generic Linux 6.19 kernel only provides LLVMpipe software rendering, while the Qualcomm‑specific X1E kernel stalls at a gray screen....
OpenRazer 3.12 Released With Support For Newer Razer Products On Linux
OpenRazer 3.12, the latest open‑source driver suite for Razer peripherals on Linux, was released today. The update adds native kernel support for several recent Razer products, including the BlackWidow V4 Tenkeyless HyperSpeed keyboard, Mouse Dock Pro, Huntsman V3 Pro 8KHz,...
Linux 7.1 Will Bring Power Estimate Reporting For AMD Ryzen AI NPUs
Linux kernel 7.1 will introduce a new ioctl, DRM_IOCTL_AMDXDNA_GET_INFO, that exposes real‑time power‑estimate data from AMD Ryzen AI NPUs. The same update adds column‑utilization metrics, allowing user‑space tools to see how busy the NPU is. These changes arrive via the...
Google Now Using AutoFDO To Enhance Android's Linux Kernel Performance
Google’s Android LLVM toolchain team announced that it has started using AutoFDO, an automatic feedback‑directed optimization technique, for building the Linux kernel in Android. By incorporating real‑world profiling data, the compiler can generate more efficient kernel binaries. Early measurements on...
Debauit Announced As Debian Source Package Auditor
Debaudit, a new suite of verification tools, was announced to audit Debian source packages. It includes upstream2orig, git2dsc, and git2orig, each checking different stages of the source‑to‑binary pipeline. The tools confirm that upstream tarballs, Git repositories, and generated originals match...
Ubuntu's AppArmor Hit By Several Security Issues - Can Yield Local Privilege Escalation
Canonical’s AppArmor security module for Ubuntu was found to contain several critical vulnerabilities, collectively dubbed “CrackArmor.” The flaws can cause kernel memory denial‑of‑service, information leaks, and, when combined with a sudo issue, enable local privilege escalation. Ubuntu has issued patches...
Linux 7.0 Cpupower Now Handles Systemd Service Setting EPP, Intel P-State Turbo Boost
Today's merge adds two key power‑management enhancements to the cpupower utility in the upcoming Linux 7.0 kernel. Administrators can now set the ACPI Energy Performance Preference (EPP) directly in the cpupower systemd service file, automating performance‑efficiency tuning. The tool also gains...
AMD ZenDNN 5.2 Brings A Major Redesign, AOCC 5.1 Recently Released
AMD announced ZenDNN 5.2, a fully re‑engineered deep‑learning library that adds multi‑backend support and promises notable performance and scalability gains while remaining backward compatible. The release also bundles support for AOCL‑DLP, oneDNN, FBDGEMM and libxsmm, broadening its applicability across heterogeneous AI...
AMD HDR/Color Improvement For Their Linux Driver & KDE - Co-Developed By Claude Code
AMD engineer Harry Wentland announced new HDR and color‑pipeline enhancements for the AMDGPU Linux driver, built on the DRM Color Pipeline API introduced in Linux 6.19. The work adds a color‑space conversion (CSC) operation via the `drm_colorop` patch and integrates it...
AMD, NVIDIA, OpenAI & Others Form An Optical Scale-Up Consortium
AMD, Broadcom, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA and OpenAI have launched the Optical Compute Interconnect (OCI) Multi‑Source Agreement consortium. The group aims to create an open, multi‑vendor ecosystem for optical scale‑up interconnects that replace copper in AI data‑center clusters. OCI’s specification combines...
Linux's KVM Virtualization Preparing For Intel Advanced Performance Extensions (APX)
Intel’s Advanced Performance Extensions (APX), debuting on Nova Lake and Diamond Rapids CPUs, are supported in Linux 6.16 and newer compilers. To enable virtualization of APX‑enabled processors, Google engineer Sean Christopherson submitted seven patches to the Kernel‑based Virtual Machine (KVM) subsystem. The changes...
Current RISC-V CPUs Being Too Slow Causes Headaches For Fedora: ~5x Slower Builds
Fedora’s RISC‑V build pipeline is dramatically slower than traditional architectures, with a Binutils compilation taking roughly five times longer than on x86_64. The slowdown stems from current RISC‑V SoCs lacking sufficient compute power, forcing developers to disable link‑time optimizations (LTO)...