English
Magyar
Rocky Linux 9.8, the latest point release in the 9 series, was officially released on 27 May 2026. The installer, container, cloud and live images are available on the download page; the release uses the 5.14.0-687.10.1 kernel and was tested for a week prior to approval. A day later, the point release of the 10 series, Rocky Linux 10.2, was released.
Security
- OpenSSH 9.9: brings many fixes and improvements compared to the previous OpenSSH 8.7 version on Rocky Linux 9
- GnuTLS 3.8.10: with ML-KEM hybrid key exchange and ML-DSA post-quantum algorithms
- p11-kit 0.26.1: post-quantum definitions in PKCS #11 headers
- fapolicyd 1.4.3: with rule filtering support
- clevis-pin-trustee: a new package that automatically unlocks LUKS-encrypted volumes using remote authentication (Trustee Key Broker Service)
Software versions in Rocky Linux 9.8
| Area | Versions |
|---|---|
| Databases | PostgreSQL 18, MariaDB 11.8 |
| Languages | Ruby 4.0, Node.js 24 |
| Basic toolchain | GCC 11.5, Binutils 2.35.2, Annobin 12.98 |
| Compilers and toolkits | GCC Toolset 15 (GCC 15.2, Binutils 2.44), LLVM Toolset 21.1.8, Rust Toolset 1.92.0, Go Toolset 1.26.2 |
| Debugging | GDB 16.3, Valgrind 3.26.0, SystemTap 5.4, Dyninst 13.0.0, elfutils 0.194, libabigail 2.9 |
| Performance monitoring | PCP 6.3.7, Grafana 10.2.6 |
PostgreSQL 18 can be installed via the module system:
dnf module reset postgresql
dnf module install postgresql:18
Always take a backup (using pg_dumpall) before upgrading an existing database to a new major version, as the data directory cannot be used directly in the new major version.
Kernel, Image Builder and FreeIPA
The kernel’s perf tool has gained debuginfod support and new Intel and AMD performance events; the drivers for Intel QAT, EDAC and cryptographic accelerators have been updated; and kdump now handles LUKS-encrypted systems more effectively. Image Builder now supports advanced disk partitioning, the inclusion of Kickstart files and WSL2 images, whilst AWS and KVM system images no longer have a separate /boot partition. Part of FreeIPA’s new, Cockpit-based interface has also been included and is available at /ipa/modern-ui.
A full list of changes can be found in the Rocky Linux 9.8 release notes and the RHEL 9.8 release notes.
ISO verification
The 9.8 checksum file has been signed with the Rocky Linux 9 key, so you can verify that the download is genuine. In the folder where you saved the ISO:
curl -O https://dl.rockylinux.org/pub/rocky/RPM-GPG-KEY-Rocky-9
gpg --import RPM-GPG-KEY-Rocky-9
curl -O https://download.rockylinux.org/pub/rocky/9.8/isos/x86_64/CHECKSUM
curl -O https://download.rockylinux.org/pub/rocky/9.8/isos/x86_64/CHECKSUM.asc
gpg --verify CHECKSUM.asc CHECKSUM
sha256sum -c CHECKSUM --ignore-missing
The output of gpg --verify should display the line ‘Good signature’ (fingerprint: 21CB 256A E16F C54C 6E65 2949 702D 426D 350D 275D), whilst sha256sum should return ‘OK’ for the downloaded ISO.
Update and migration
The update from Rocky Linux 9 requires just one command:
sudo dnf -y upgrade
The migrate2rocky tool helps you migrate from other Enterprise Linux 9 distributions. 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. Previous 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 9.7 (December 2025)
Rocky Linux is also an available operating system option on our KVM VPS servers, and when installed on an entire machine, you can run it on our dedicated servers.