AWS Unveils Amazon Linux 2027 with Major Performance and Security Upgrades
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has released Amazon Linux 2027 into public preview, marking the next generation of its Linux distribution. This new release is designed specifically for workloads on AWS and targets web applications, databases, containerized microservices, AI and machine learning workloads, and large-scale infrastructure.
One key change in this release is the move to Linux kernel 7.1, which offers improved performance and security compared to the previous version. Additionally, SELinux, a security feature that runs in permissive mode by default on Amazon Linux 2023, is now set to enforcing mode by default.
The development stack has also been upgraded with GCC jumping from 11.5 to 16.1, glibc from 2.34 to 2.43, and LLVM/Clang updates to version 22. The package management system has also changed significantly with DNF5 replacing DNF 4.14.
Amazon Linux 2027 is available across all commercial AWS Regions, with Amazon Machine Images offered for both x86-64 and ARM systems. However, it's essential to note that this release is still in public preview and should not be used for production workloads. Users must update their systems manually to receive updates, including critical security fixes.