OpenWrt 18.06.2 released with major bug fixes, updated Linux kernel and more!

2 min read

Last week the team at OpenWrt announced the second service release of the stable OpenWrt 18.06 series, OpenWrt 18.06.2.

OpenWrt is a Linux operating system that targets embedded devices and provides a fully writable filesystem with optional package management. It is also considered to be a complete replacement for the vendor-supplied firmware of a wide range of wireless routers and non-network devices.

What’s new in OpenWrt 18.06.2?

OpenWrt 18.06.2 comes with bug fixes in the network and the build system and updates to the kernel and base packages.

In OpenWrt 18.06.2, Linux kernel has been updated to versions 4.9.152/4.14.95 (from 4.9.120/4.14.63 in v18.06.1).
GNU time dependency has been removed.
This release comes with added support for bpf match.
In this release, a blank line has been inserted after KernelPackage template to allow chaining calls.
INSTALL_SUID macro has been added.
This release comes with added support for enabling the rootfs/boot partition size option via tar.
Building of artifacts has been introduced.
Package URL has been updated.
Un-initialized return value has been fixed.

Major bug fixes

The docbook2man error has been fixed.
The issues with libressl build on x32 (amd64ilp32) host has been fixed.
The build has been fixed without modifying Makefile.am.
Fedora patch has been added for crashing git style patches.
The syntax error has been fixed.
Security fixes for the Linux kernel, GNU patch, Glibc, BZip2, Grub, OpenSSL, and MbedTLS.
IPv6 and network service fixes.

Few of the users are happy about this release and they think despite small teams and budgets, the team at OpenWrt has done wonderful job by powering so many routers. One of the comment reads, “The new release still works fine on a TP-Link TL-WR1043N/ND v1 (32MB RAM, 8MB Flash). This is an old router I got from the local reuse center for $10 a few years ago. It can handle a 100 Mbps fiber connection fine and has 5 gigabit ports. Thanks Openwrt!”

But the question is if cheap routers affect the internet speed. One of the users commented on HackerNews, “My internet is too fast (150 mbps) for a cheap router to effectively manage the connection, meaning that unless I pay 250€ for a router, I will just slow down my Internet needlessly.”

Read more about this news on the OpenWrt’s official blog post.