The Linux kernel maintainers around Greg Kroah-Hartman and Sasha Levin released several stable kernels in early August 2026. Alongside the current stable branch 7.1.8, the long-term support (LTS) series 6.18.44, 6.12.103 and 6.6.151 were also updated.
All of these are point releases that bring no new features but hundreds of targeted bug fixes and security patches – among others in the block layer, the networking stack and the major filesystems. For users of the LTS kernels, which power many servers and distributions, an update is therefore recommended.
Which kernel is the right one?
- 7.1.8 – the current stable branch with the latest drivers and features.
- 6.18.44 / 6.12.103 / 6.6.151 – the maintained LTS series for systems that prioritise stability and long-term support.
In parallel, development of the next kernel is already under way: Linux 7.2 is in the release-candidate phase and should follow as a stable version in the coming weeks.
Sources: linuxcompatible.org, Tux Machines.
