On 20 May 2025, the day AlmaLinux 9.6 was released, the CloudLinux team announced the stable release of CloudLinux OS 9.6. According to the announcement, the update represents a significant step forward in improving the performance, security and stability of web hosting environments. Details of the installation and update, as well as the list of changes, can be found below.

🚀 Exciting news! The CloudLinux OS 9.6 Stable Release is here! 🎉

👉 Check out the details and changelog now!

🔗 https://t.co/XpjFkpbgIf#CloudLinux9.6 #Hosting #TechUpgrade

— CloudLinuxOS (@CloudLinuxOS) May 21, 2025

The main changes are as follows

Kernel

• Kernel version: 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6
• LVE kernel module: kmod-lve-2.1-45.el9

Updated module streams

• Maven 3.9
• MySQL 8.4
• nginx 1.26
• PHP 8.3

Updates to performance tools and debuggers

• elfutils 0.192
• Valgrind 3.24.0
• SystemTap 5.2
• rsyslog 8.2412.0
• Git 2.47.1
• Git-LFS 3.6.1

Updated performance monitoring tools

• PCP 6.3.2

Compilers

• LLVM Toolset 19.1.7
• Go Toolset 1.23.6
• Rust Toolset 1.84.1

Security updates

• SSSD 2.9.6

Network devices

• NetworkManager 1.51.90
• iproute 6.11.0

Containers and virtualisation

• podman 5.4.0
• buildah 1.39.0
• libvirt 10.10.0
• QEMU-KVM 9.1.0

New virtualisation packages

• snpguest
• snphost

The new packages facilitate the management of AMD SEV-SNP-based virtual machines with encrypted memory. A comprehensive list of changes is available in the AlmaLinux 9.6 release notes.

Installation and updates

CloudLinux OS 9.6 can be installed on a new server from an ISO image, or an existing AlmaLinux 9.6 server can be converted (see our article on installing CloudLinux OS). CloudLinux rolled out the update from version 9.5 gradually over a two-week period; since then, running dnf update alone will update to the latest point release. The announcement provided the following command for the early update (it is worth checking the name of the rollout repository against the announcement, as version 9.5 still used cloudlinux-rollout-9-bypass):

dnf --enablerepo=cloudlinux-rollout-10-bypass install cloudlinux-release
dnf update

PHP 8.3 can be enabled via the module system as follows; however, on cPanel hosting accounts, the PHP version for websites is managed by the CloudLinux PHP Selector:

dnf module reset php
dnf module install php:8.3

How long is it supported for?

CloudLinux OS 9 will receive updates until 31 May 2032 (see our article on the CloudLinux lifecycle). Further releases in the 9 series:

• CloudLinux OS 9 (January 2023)
• CloudLinux OS 9.2 (May 2023)
• CloudLinux OS 9.3 (November 2023)
• CloudLinux OS 9.4 (May 2024)
• CloudLinux OS 9.5 (November 2024)
• CloudLinux OS 9.7 (November 2025)
• CloudLinux OS 9.8 (May 2026)

Our cPanel hosting plans run on CloudLinux, and it can also be installed as an operating system on our KVM VPS servers.

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