OpenBSD 8.0 arrives with security record still intact

OpenBSD 8.0, the 61st release in the project's semiannual pattern since 1996, has officially launched. Founder Theo de Raadt emphasizes that OpenBSD's reputation for security remains unblemished, boasting only two remote vulnerabilities in over thirty years of default installations. The latest version introduces numerous enhancements and new features.

Notably, Intel Arc A-Series (DG2/Alchemist) graphics cards are now supported, enabling the system to manage more than 4GB of VRAM. The kernel virtual address space for AMD64 has been expanded from 4GB to 512GB. Hibernation support has been added to ARM64 systems, and a new RPKI-to-router daemon, rtrd(8), has been introduced. Improvements in RISC-V include kernel support for the V vector extension and Advanced Interrupt Architecture.

Wireless driver updates include 802.11n compatibility and 40 MHz channels for the qwx(4) wireless driver. The operating system can now accommodate up to 64 virtual CPUs per guest virtual machine. Security and internal updates bolster LibreSSL 4.4.0 and OpenSSH 10.6. The OpenBSD team also announces the discontinuation of Loongson architecture support due to incompatibility with the Clang 22 compiler. For a comprehensive list of all changes, refer to the official release announcement.