FreeBSD 11.2 Ready For Release With Spectre Mitigation, Various Enhancements

FreeBSD 11.2 is ready to set sail as the first significant FreeBSD update since last July's 11.1 release.

FreeBSD 11.2-RELEASE is now available. Those wanting it right now can find it via FTP with the 11.2-RELEASE images being spun, assuming no last minute issues occur prior to the FreeBSD team officially announcing this release.

The FreeBSD 11.2-RELEASE also has the new release notes available. Notable are the many security fixes over the past year including for Meltdown and Spectre as well as the recent lazy FPU disclosure and other security fixes to key packages.

FreeBSD 11.2 also ships with many utility updates, different package updates, the Linux ABI compatibility layer now supports musl libc consumers, support in the kernel for multiple real-time blocks, support for the VirtIO console with Bhyve, and various cloud integration updates too.

Several kernel drivers for older and no longer supported hardware has also been deprecated ahead of their expected removal in FreeBSD 12. FreeBSD 12.0 is tentatively scheduled for release in November while the code freeze begins in August and betas start in September.