Oracle Linux 9.7 is now generally available for 64-bit Intel and AMD (x86_64) and 64-bit Arm (aarch64) platforms. This release includes the following kernel options:

Oracle Linux provides enterprise-grade security, built-in virtualization and management tools, and optimized performance for large-scale, data- and compute-intensive workloads across distributed and multicloud environments. By delivering 100% application binary compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Oracle Linux enables organizations to run existing applications without modification and maintain operational continuity. Oracle Linux 9.7 maintains this compatibility with the corresponding Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.7 release and delivers on Oracle’s goal of keeping Linux open and free for everyone. As a founding member of the OpenELA, Oracle continues to contribute, maintain, and support Enterprise Linux source code.

Oracle Linux sources, binaries, ISOs, and errata are freely available and easily accessible from the Oracle Linux yum server, without restrictions.

What’s New in Oracle Linux 9.7

Strengthened security and next-generation cryptography

Oracle Linux 9.7 introduces enhanced cryptographic capabilities and next-generation post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms, designed to help protect against future quantum-driven attacks. System-wide crypto-policies now enable PQC support by prioritizing hybrid ML-KEM and pure ML-DSA algorithms, and updated NSS cryptographic libraries add ML-DSA support.

This release further adds FIPS mode support for hybrid ML-KEM key encapsulation, allowing OpenSSL to use both classical and post-quantum algorithms for key exchange. With Oracle Linux 9.7, OpenSSL has been updated and now delivers broader support for modern and post-quantum cryptographic algorithms—including ML-KEM, ML-DSA, and SLH-DSA. It also introduces support for QUIC transport, improving performance for secure, latency-sensitive applications, while expanded algorithm coverage strengthens overall Transport Layer Security (TLS). Together, these updates help organizations enhance the security of their encrypted communications and prepare their infrastructure for a quantum-safe future.

Among other security enhancements, Oracle Linux 9.7 includes an updated SCAP Security Guide with refreshed key security profiles, providing up-to-date SCAP-aligned guidance for secure enterprise deployments.

Upgraded developer tooling for greater performance and productivity

Oracle Linux 9.7 delivers advancements across the developer toolchain to improve performance, diagnostics, and application modernization. It includes an updated GCC toolset that enables developers to build, test, and deploy applications with modern compiler technology. The upgraded LLVM toolset further enhances code generation, boosts performance, strengthens diagnostics, and expands support for C, C++, and Rust development. With the Oracle Linux 9.7 release, the updated Rust toolset introduces the Rust 2024 Edition, its most significant release yet, and delivers new language capabilities that enhance readability and streamline modern Rust workflows.

New in this release, Valkey is a high-performance, in-memory key-value store compatible with Redis, providing fast, scalable operations across core data types. In addition to these developer-focused enhancements, updates to Cockpit feature a redesigned PatternFly 6 user interface, upgraded storage and virtual machine components, and IPv6 support for WireGuard VPNs.

For complete and detailed information on all features, enhancements, and changes introduced in this release, please refer to the Oracle Linux 9.7 Release Notes.

Upgrading to the latest Oracle Linux releases

Using the Leapp utility, systems running Oracle Linux 7 can be upgraded to Oracle Linux 8, and those running Oracle Linux 8 can be upgraded to the Oracle Linux 9.7 release. For step-by-step instructions on upgrading your system, review the following documentation for Oracle Linux 8 and Oracle Linux 9.

Oracle Linux 9 systems on a previous update level can be upgraded to Oracle Linux 9.7 by running the sudo dnf update command.

Oracle Linux Partner Ecosystem

Servers already certified for an earlier release of Oracle Linux 9 with UEK 8 do not need to be recertified for this update. Servers certified for Oracle Linux with UEK are published on the Hardware Certification List (HCL). For independent hardware vendors (IHVs) that would like to be part of the Hardware Certification Program, please contact us at hcl-info_ww@oracle.com.

A list of independent software vendors (ISVs) in the Oracle Linux ecosystem that have certified their software to run on Oracle Linux and Oracle Virtualization can be found in the Oracle Linux ISV Catalog. Applications certified on Oracle Linux run wherever Oracle Linux runs—on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and other cloud and on-premises environments.

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Resources

For more information, see the following Oracle Linux resources:

Documentation and training

GitHub

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