The OpenBSD project has released version 8.0, marking the 61st official iteration of the Unix-like operating system. This update arrives six months after the previous 7.9 release and introduces significant improvements across virtualization, graphics, and hardware support.
A major focus of this release is the VMM/VMD virtualization system, which now supports up to 64 vCPUs per virtual machine. The update also adds x2APIC mode support, MSI/MSI-X interrupt support for virtio devices, and improved QCOW disk image handling.
Graphics capabilities have been expanded by updating the DRM driver to a version based on Linux 6.18.53. Notably, the inteldrm driver now includes support for Intel Arc Alchemist graphics cards, alongside fixes for GuC timeout issues on systems with Alder Lake processors.
Memory management for the AMD64 kernel has been overhauled, increasing the virtual address space from 4 GB to 512 GB. Meanwhile, the ARM64 platform gains sleep support and improved suspend and resume functionality for specific Qualcomm Snapdragon-based laptops.
Security enhancements include the integration of LibreSSL 4.4 and OpenSSH 10.6. The system now features experimental post-quantum cryptographic support, including the X25519MLKEM768 key exchange algorithm for TLS 1.3 and ML-DSA44/Ed25519 signatures in OpenSSH.
The software repository has been updated to include newer versions of major applications, such as KDE Plasma 6.7.5, GNOME 49, and Firefox 157. Users can download the new version via official mirrors or follow the upgrade guide for existing 7.9 installations.
