Linus Torvalds has announced Linux kernel 5.4 dubbed “Kleptomaniac Octopus” as the last stable kernel release of 2019. The new Linux kernel accompanies a host of features such as support for the exFAT file system by Microsoft, kernel lockdown feature and support for AMD Radeon Navi 12 and 14 GPUs, AMD Radeon Arcturus GPUs, and AMD Dali APU.
In the announcement post, Linus Torvalds describes Linux Kernel 5.4 update as “mostly some networking updates (mix of network drivers and core networking), and some minor GPU driver updates. Other than that it’s a small collection of random other things all over.”
Below we’ve discussed in brief the features that the new Linux kernel update brings
Major Features of Linux Kernel 5.4
Kernel lockdown
One of the major updates in Linux Kernel 5.4 is the integration of kernel lockdown mode. The Lockdown feature in Linux is mainly intended to prevent root account from tampering with kernel code, thus drawing a line between userland processes and the code.
The feature was originally proposed by Google engineer Matthew Garrett in 2010 and now the latest Linux kernel 5.4 ships with the feature disabled by default. You can enable it with the lockdown=kernel parameter.
Support for Microsoft exFAT file system
Finally, Linus Torvalds has added support for the Microsoft exFAT file system in Linux kernel 5.4. This has been possible as Microsoft published the specifications of its proprietary file system in August. The addition of the exFAT file system in Linux kernel 5.4 is a huge relief for those who usually connect exFAT formatted drives.
Support for AMD and Intel GPUs
Linux kernel 5.4 also brings support for AMD Navi 12/14 GPU, AMD Arcturus GPUs, AMD Dali APU support. In addition to support for AMD GPUs, the latest Linux kernel update also brings support for Intel Tigerlake Gen12 graphics.
You can download the Linux kernel 5.4 from kernel.org.
