Ubuntu 25.10 to provide security boost by securely fetching the time

Canonical has announced that it’ll begin using a piece of software called chrony for more secure time management, starting with Ubuntu 25.10. End users don’t need to worry about this change too much, but it will result in strengthened system security, especially for cryptographic operations and certificate validation.

Once implemented, Ubuntu will use chrony instead of systemd-timesyncd. The trouble with systemd-timesyncd is that it uses the Network Time Protocol (NTP), instead of the improved Network Time Security (NTS). While NTP is good at keeping time, it doesn’t authenticate the time source; this could lead to your system getting the wrong time from a malicious server, which could mess with security checks when visiting a secure website.

Getting a little bit technical, NTP uses port 123/UDP to send and receive data. UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is capable of sending data quickly but it doesn’t guarantee delivery or order. If data is lost, it doesn’t matter since updates are frequent.

With NTS, before the time is fetched, your computer starts by performing a secure handshake with the NTS server, similar to how websites using HTTPS establish a secure connection. NTS does this handshake over a different port, 4460/TCP. TCP, or Transmission Control Protocol, is more reliable for sending data as it ensures all data arrives in the correct order.

Once the connection is established, then the time synchronization happens over the NTP port, but each time, it’s cryptographically signed meaning the time information is authentic and hasn’t been altered.

The switch to chrony will take place on June 5, according to the current schedule. So, if you decide to try the daily image of Ubuntu 25.10 after this date, you should be running Ubuntu with chrony fetching the time securely.

Source: Ubuntu Mailing List

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