CloudLinux 9.8 is now generally available. It tracks AlmaLinux OS 9.8 (“Olive Jaguar”) with the upstream 5.14 kernel, refreshed compiler toolchains, and new Python 3.14, MariaDB 11.8, and PostgreSQL 18 versions. The CloudLinux LVE stack, mod_lsapi, and PHP/Python/Node.js Selector packages have been rebuilt against the new kernel.
How to Install CloudLinux 9.8
You can install CloudLinux 9.8 on new servers using our ISO images, or convert an existing AlmaLinux 9.8 system using the standard cldeploy workflow. Detailed step-by-step instructions are available in the official documentation.
How to Upgrade from CloudLinux 9.7
The cloudlinux-release package for 9.8 is being rolled out gradually over the next two weeks to existing 9.7 installations, so the standard dnf update workflow will pick it up automatically once your server’s batch is reached. If you would like to upgrade immediately, run:
dnf --enablerepo=cloudlinux-rollout-8-bypass install cloudlinux-release
dnf update
After the rollout window finishes, every system updated via dnf update will land on 9.8 by default. As always, we recommend staging the upgrade on a test machine before applying it across your fleet.
What’s New in CloudLinux 9.8
CloudLinux 9.8 inherits the full set of AlmaLinux 9.8 improvements, layered with the CloudLinux kernel, LVE, and PHP/Python/Node.js Selector enhancements. The highlights below are grouped by area.
Kernel and Kernel Modules
- Upstream AlmaLinux kernel 5.14.0-687.5.3.el9_8 — CloudLinux 9.8 ships the AlmaLinux kernel as-is (no CloudLinux rebuild), including the upstream fix for excessive CPU consumption by systemd and ps during task cleanup.
- kmod-lve-2.1-63.el9 — LVE kernel module rebuilt against the 9.8 kernel ABI, with Secure Boot support.
- All recent CloudLinux security fixes are inherited through the AlmaLinux 9.8 kernel, including the patched kernels rolled out earlier this year for Dirty Frag and Copy Fail.
Compiler Toolchains
- GCC Toolset 15 (GCC 15, Binutils 2.44)
- LLVM Toolset 21.1.8
- Rust Toolset 1.92.0
- Go Toolset 1.24
- .NET 10.0
Programming Languages and Runtimes
- Python 3.14 — available alongside Python 3.9, 3.11, and 3.12.
- Node.js 24
- Ruby 4.0
- glibc 2.34 with latest security and locale updates.
Databases
- MariaDB 11.8
- PostgreSQL 18
- MySQL 8.0 module stream refreshed with the latest upstream point release.
Web Stack
- httpd 2.4.62 (with CloudLinux mod_lsapi and ruid2 integration)
- nginx 1.20.1 in BaseOS plus refreshed nginx-1.24 module stream
- All PHP module streams (8.1 / 8.2 / 8.3 / 8.4) refreshed; alt-php Selector packages updated to track upstream point releases.
Containers and Virtualization
- Podman 5.8.0
- Buildah 1.43.0
- skopeo 1.22.0
- libvirt 11.10.0
- QEMU-KVM 10.1.0
Performance, Debugging and Observability
- GDB 16.3, Valgrind 3.26.0, SystemTap 5.4, Bpftrace 0.24
- elfutils 0.194, rsyslog 8.2510.0
- PCP and Grafana module streams refreshed to the latest point releases shipped by RHEL 9.8.
Networking
- NetworkManager 1.54.3
- iproute 6.17.0
- Ethtool, tcpdump, and Wireshark refreshed to the latest upstream releases shipped with 9.8.
Security
- OpenSSL 3.5.5 — continued post-quantum cryptography support (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA) via the PQ crypto subpolicy.
- OpenSSH 9.9p1
- GnuTLS 3.8.10
- crypto-policies 20260224
- SSSD 2.9.8
- SELinux-policy 38.1.75
- Keylime 7.12.1
Productivity, Desktop, and Miscellaneous
- Git 2.52.0 with Git-LFS 3.7.1
- Samba 4.23.5
- Mesa 25.2.7, PipeWire 1.4.9
- Cockpit 356, cmake 3.31.8, sudo 1.9.17p2
For the complete list of changes inherited from upstream, please refer to the AlmaLinux 9.8 release notes and the CloudLinux changelog.
Hardware and Architecture Support
CloudLinux 9.8 is available for x86_64 (Intel/AMD). The same minimum hardware requirements as previous CloudLinux 9 releases apply.
Lifecycle
CloudLinux 9 follows the standard RHEL 9 lifecycle, with full support through 2032. Existing CloudLinux 9.x customers can move to 9.8 at no additional cost as part of their active subscription.
Get Started
- New install? Follow the CloudLinux installation guide: boot, DVD, and minimal ISO images are linked from there.
- Existing AlmaLinux 9.8 server? Convert it with cldeploy.
- Already on CloudLinux 9.7? Either wait for the rollout to reach your server or upgrade now with the bypass repo shown above.
As always, our team is here to help. Please reach out via our support portal if you hit any issues, and we look forward to your feedback on 9.8.