Compatible OpenSSL 1.0.2 packages will be available as well

Sep 26, 2016 23:00 GMT  ·  By

Fedora Program Manager Jan Kurik informs the Fedora Linux community about a new system-wide change for the upcoming Fedora 26 operating system, namely the addition of the OpenSSL 1.1.0 libraries by default.

It appears that current Fedora Linux releases ship with OpenSSL 1.0.2h, which has been patched with the latest security fixes, but the team decided it was time to upgrade the OpenSSL libraries (libssl and libcrypto) to a newer, more advanced branch. Therefore, Fedora 26 Linux will ship with OpenSSL 1.1.0 by default, which will have a massive impact on the overall stability and security of the OS.

"Update the OpenSSL library to the 1.1.0 branch in Fedora to bring multiple big improvements, new cryptographic algorithms, and new API that allows for keeping ABI stability in future upgrades. We will also add compat openssl102 package so the applications and other dependencies which are not ported yet to the new API continue to work," reads the proposal.

Fedora 26 Linux operating system to land on June 6, 2017

According to the Fedora Project developers, there are many benefits to upgrading the OpenSSL libraries to the 1.1.0 branch, but the best one will be that they can keep up with any new improvements and bug fixes released upstream by the OpenSSL team. Of course, Fedora 26 will also provide compatible OpenSSL 1.0.2 packages for apps that need it.

Developers who have apps that rely on the libcrypto or libssl libraries need to make sure that they are fully compatible with OpenSSL 1.1.0 before Fedora 26 is released, which should happen on June 6, 2017, if everything goes according to plan and no unexpected delays occur during its six-month development cycle. The development of Fedora 26 will start next year in January and Fedora 25 is set to hit the streets on November 15, 2016.