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Rocky Linux 9.7 was officially released on 1 December 2025. The updated installer, container, cloud and live images are available on the downloads page. The release uses the 5.14.0-611.5.1 kernel and was tested for a week prior to approval.
Post-quantum encryption
The most important security update in version 9.7 is that the system-wide encryption policy (crypto-policies) now includes a new PQ sub-policy. This enables algorithms designed to protect against quantum computers (post-quantum, PQC), and many applications and devices already support these. The sub-policy can be enabled alongside the default policy as follows:
sudo update-crypto-policies --set DEFAULT:PQ
Afterwards, it is advisable to restart the services that use encryption (web server, SSH) and check that older clients can still connect.
Software versions in Rocky Linux 9.7
| Area | Versions |
|---|---|
| Languages, web and database servers | Node.js 24, Valkey 8 |
| Runtime environment | .NET 10.0 |
| Basic toolchain | glibc 2.34, Annobin 12.98 |
| Compilers and toolkits | GCC Toolset 15 (GCC 15.1, Binutils 2.44), LLVM Toolset 20.1.8, Rust Toolset 1.88.0, Go Toolset 1.24 |
| Debugging | GDB 16.3, Valgrind 3.25.1, SystemTap 5.3, Dyninst 13.0.0, elfutils 0.193, libabigail 2.8 |
Valkey is an open-source, community-driven fork of Redis; most Redis clients can connect to it without any changes. It can be installed via the module system in Node.js 24:
dnf module reset nodejs
dnf module install nodejs:24
Cockpit and Image Builder
Rocky Linux’s web console (Cockpit) has been given a revamped interface based on PatternFly 6, whilst Image Builder now also creates WSL2 and Vagrant (libvirt) images. According to the release notes, certain application branches will no longer receive updates from version 9.7 onwards, so it is worth checking whether the modules you are using are still supported.
A full list of changes can be found in the Rocky Linux 9.7 release notes and the RHEL 9.7 release notes.
ISO verification
curl -O https://dl.rockylinux.org/vault/rocky/9.7/isos/x86_64/CHECKSUM
sha256sum -c CHECKSUM --ignore-missing
Run the command in the folder where you saved the ISO; the result ‘OK’ should appear next to the downloaded image file. Before installation, you can also check whether your processor is compatible using the Rocky Linux CPU compatibility guide.
Update and migration
Rocky Linux 9 can be updated via the command line using the sudo dnf -y upgrade command, or via the GNOME Software and KDE Discover desktop tools. For other Enterprise Linux 9 distributions, [migrate2rocky](https://docs.rockylinux.org/guides/migrate2rocky/) helps with the migration. Rocky Linux does not support upgrades between major versions; it recommends a fresh installation from version 8 to 9. We have written about the community-developed ELevate tool in our ELevate guide.
How long is it supported for?
Active support for Rocky Linux 9 (“Blue Onyx”) will continue until 31 May 2027, and its lifecycle will end on 31 May 2032. Further releases in the 9 series:
- Rocky Linux 9.0 (July 2022)
- Rocky Linux 9.1 (November 2022)
- Rocky Linux 9.2 (May 2023)
- Rocky Linux 9.3 (November 2023)
- Rocky Linux 9.4 (May 2024)
- Rocky Linux 9.5 (November 2024)
- Rocky Linux 9.6 (June 2025)
- Rocky Linux 9.8 (May 2026)
We wrote about the minor release of the 10 series, which was released a week earlier, in our article on Rocky Linux 10.1.
You can also choose Rocky Linux 9 when ordering a KVM VPS or dedicated server. Our cPanel hosting servers run CloudLinux OS, which is also RHEL-compatible.