14 DAY TRIAL // Tails 4.4 is now available for download with several welcome improvements, including new app updates and fixes for security vulnerabilities, all of them making the deployment of this new release the recommended step going forward for everyone.
First and foremost, it’s the security side of this new Tails update.
As the developing team explains, many of the security issues discovered in Tails 4.3 have been corrected in this version, including vulnerabilities that affected OS components and pre-installed apps like TOR Browser and Mozilla Thunderbird. You can find a list of the patched vulnerabilities in the box after the jump, along with links to read more information about each of them.
And because it resolves security flaws in a number of pre-loaded apps that come bundled with Tails, version 4.4 also includes updates for these apps. So users installing it get Tor Browser version 9.0.6, Mozilla Thunderbird version 68.5.0, and Linux kernel 5.4.19, with the developing team highlighting the support for new hardware.
Next update in April
There are obviously several other fixes as well, including for a problem hitting Wi-Fi interfaces with Realtek RTL8822BE and RTL8822CE chipsets.
“Fix missing firmware for RTL8822BE/RTL8822CE (See: #17323). Use the tails-workarounds provided firmwares until the firmware-realtek package is updated with the patch by Sjoerd Simons (Debian#935969). Note: This might not be sufficient to support those cards,” the changelog reads.
There are no known issues that are specific to this update but on the other hand, there are several other problems inherited from the previous updates, and you can check them out in full here.
Those already using a Tails USB stick can use the automatic upgrade from versions 4.2, 4.2.2, and 4.3 to install the new update. The next major update is schedule for April 7 when Tails 4.5 is projected to go live for everyone.