AWS linux documentation change
Summary
Removed an important note about the planned kernel update from 4.14 to 5.10 for Amazon Linux 2 base AMI, including details about the 2026-01-20 transition date and continued support for kernel 4.14.
Security assessment
The change removes informational content about a future kernel upgrade that included security improvements, but doesn't reference any specific security vulnerability, incident, or weakness. Kernel updates typically contain security enhancements, but the removal itself doesn't indicate a security issue.
Diff
diff --git a/linux/al2/ug/aml2-kernel.md b/linux/al2/ug/aml2-kernel.md index bcd22cd04..0f233c46e 100644 --- a//linux/al2/ug/aml2-kernel.md +++ b//linux/al2/ug/aml2-kernel.md @@ -9,6 +8,0 @@ -###### Important - -On 2026-01-20, Amazon Linux will update its default kernel from 4.14 to 5.10 for the Amazon Linux 2 base AMI (`amzn2-ami-hvm-x86_64-gp2` and `amzn2-ami-hvm-arm64-gp2`), reflecting our long-standing recommendation that all AL2 customers use kernel 5.10 as their default. This means that customers launching new EC2 instances using these standard AMI names will automatically receive kernel 5.10, benefiting from enhanced performance, security improvements, and better hardware support without requiring any explicit action. - -We will continue providing kernel 4.14 updates through Amazon Linux 2's end-of-life on 2026-06-30, and customers who specifically need kernel 4.14 can continue using the dedicated AMI names (`amzn2-ami-kernel-4.14-hvm-x86_64-gp2` and `amzn2-ami-kernel-4.14-hvm-arm64-gp2`) to ensure their workloads remain unaffected. -