14 DAY TRIAL // The development team behind the Kodi-based LibreELEC (Libre Embedded Linux Entertainment Center) open-source HTPC operating system for embedded systems and PCs released LibreELEC 8.2.3.
LibreELEC 8.2.3 is the third maintenance update to the LibreELEC 8.2 "Krypton" series of the Just enough Operating System (JeOS), which is based on the Kodi 17 "Krypton" open-source and cross-platform media center. It's here a month after the LibreELEC 8.2.2 point release to address a few issues.
For starters, LibreELEC 8.2.3 changes the embedded Pastebin provider to ix.io because sprunge.us no longer works, so users can continue submitting logs to the project's forums through a URL without the need to directly upload the log files or copy and paste their text.
LibreELEC 8.2.3 also addresses a long-running crash issue with Intel Bay Trail hardware that required users to force the max_cstate option in the Linux kernel boot parameters, as well as a continuity error issue with some USB DVB adaptors. It also backports the LED driver from the master LibreELEC branch to allow Intel NUC users to play with the colors if their hardware is equipped with a LED.
Patches for Spectre and Meltdown security flaws coming with next release
As the Kodi 17 "Krypton" series will no longer receive any maintenance updates, nor will LibreELEC 8.2. Therefore, the LibreELEC developers decided not to implement any patches for the Spectre and Meltdown security vulnerabilities at this time as they plan on integrating them on the next major release, which will be based on the upcoming Kodi 18 "Leia" release.
"Why? ... because patches for these issues are still evolving and lots of testing will be required and that effort needs to focus on our active development branch. Both issues are also moot for LibreELEC because current exploits either require a browser (which we don’t have) or local console access; in which case you are already the system root user and there’s really no need for those exploits," reads the announcement.
The decision was taken because only the LibreELEC Generic x86-64 image is affected. ARM-based Raspberry Pi and Amlogic hardware do not appear to be affected by Meltdown and Spectre. That being said, you can download the LibreELEC 8.2.3 release right now for your specific architecture. Another LibreELEC 8.2 maintenance update could be released next month.