AWS linux documentation change

Service: linux · 2025-05-13 · Documentation low

File: linux/al2023/ug/deprecated-al2023.md

Summary

Added 'aspell' to deprecated packages list and documented its deprecation, advising migration to hunspell/enchant2. Added community context for libdb and pcre deprecations.

Security assessment

The changes document package deprecations but do not explicitly reference security vulnerabilities. Deprecation rationale focuses on community trends and maintenance rather than patching vulnerabilities. While deprecated packages may eventually lack security updates, this is not explicitly stated in the diff.

Diff

diff --git a/linux/al2023/ug/deprecated-al2023.md b/linux/al2023/ug/deprecated-al2023.md
index 876b205b8..938dcce2b 100644
--- a//linux/al2023/ug/deprecated-al2023.md
+++ b//linux/al2023/ug/deprecated-al2023.md
@@ -5 +5 @@
-32bit x86 (i686) runtime supportBerkeley DB (libdb)cronIMDSv1pcre version 1System V init (sysvinit)EOL Packages are deprecated
+32bit x86 (i686) runtime supportaspellBerkeley DB (libdb)cronIMDSv1pcre version 1System V init (sysvinit)EOL Packages are deprecated
@@ -18,0 +19,2 @@ This section will be updated over time as the Linux ecosystem evolves and future
+  * aspell
+
@@ -37,0 +40,6 @@ AL2023 retains the ability to run 32bit x86 (i686) binaries. It is likely that t
+## `aspell`
+
+While AL2023 ships with the `aspell` package, it is deprecated and will be removed in the next major release of Amazon Linux. Customers are advised to migrate to modern replacements such as `hunspell` or `enchant2`. 
+
+The deprecation of `aspell` in AL2023 follows the broader community shift, for example [`aspell` deprecation in Fedora](https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/AspellDeprecation). 
+
@@ -47,0 +56,2 @@ The `dnf` package manager in AL2023 retains read-only support for a Berkeley DB
+The deprecation of `libdb` follows the broader community shift away from it, for example the [`libdb` deprecation in Fedora](https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/Libdb_deprecated). 
+
@@ -69,0 +80,2 @@ The deprecated version of `pcre` will not receive security updates for the full
+The deprecation of `pcre` in favor of `pcre2` follows the broader community shift in this direction, for example [`pcre` deprecation in Fedora](https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/PcreDeprecation). 
+