Kernel release status
The 4.9 kernel is out, released on
December 11. Some of the headline features in 4.9 include improved
security with virtually mapped kernel
stacks, the memory-protection keys system
calls, the BBR congestion-control
algorithm, support for the Greybus bus
architecture, shared extents in the XFS filesystem (which will be used to
support lightweight copy operations among other things), and much more.
The code name has also been changed to "Roaring Lionus". In the end,
16,216 non-merge changesets were pulled for the 4.9 release, making this
development cycle the busiest ever by far.
The 4.10 merge window is open; see the separate article below for a summary of what has been pulled into the the mainline thus far.
Stable updates: 4.8.13 and 4.4.37 were released on December 8,
followed by 4.8.14 and 4.4.38 on December 10.
The 4.8.15 and 4.4.39 updates are in the review process as of
this writing; they can be expected on or after December 15.