Linux Kernel of the Beast 6.6.6 exorcised by angelic 6.6.7 update

The rapture of the black T-shirt brigade was very short indeed

The kernel 6.6.6 version number delighted many a black-clad open source fan, but not for long. It's already been replaced with a more neighborly 6.6.7.…

At the end of October, Linux version 6.6 came out, and just over a couple of weeks later, it became the latest long-term supported release. It's not always the case, but in recent years it's been common for the last complete point-release of the year to be declared a stable release that will get several years of updates. This also means that August's kernel 6.5, released on the project's 32nd birthday, is now at the end of its life. After 13 point releases, it won't be getting any more.

Stable kernel supremo Greg Kroah-Hartman released version 6.6.5 last Friday, with over 100 changes. One of these was the same problematic back-port that also affected kernel 6.1.66, as we reported earlier this week. A change to Wi-Fi handling depended on an earlier change that wasn't included in kernel 6.1.66 and led to the very rapid release of 6.1.67, with the wireless-breaking change removed again.

The same problem affected release 6.6.5, and just as in the older stable kernel series, the change was removed again the following working day. Monday (December 11) saw the release of the satanically significant kernel 6.6.6, backing out just that single change from the previous version. That made quite a few redditors very happy, although Hacker News commenters were less delighted. The omens were there to be seen, even back in October when 6.6 appeared.

But now comes the bad news for all the spooky kids out there: the kernel bearing the Mark of the Beast didn't last long at all. By Wednesday (13 December), it had been superseded by kernel 6.6.7. This is a much bigger release, with 268 files changed, and a hefty changelog, which by our count has 7,562 lines.

With such a short window of opportunity, it's no wonder there wasn't an update and re-release of Ubuntu Satanic Edition. ®

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