GNU GRUB 2.14 has been released, marking a significant update to this essential multiboot bootloader used across numerous GNU/Linux distributions and UNIX-like systems.
This new version introduces several noteworthy features, including support for the EROFS filesystem and the Argon2 key derivation function (KDF). It also enhances security with the integration of Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 support for key protection, alongside improvements for EFI platforms, BLS, UKI, and shim loader protocol support.
Significant updates in GRUB 2.14 entail:
- LVM LV integrity and cache volume support
- New options to block the command line interface and GRUB environment blocks in Btrfs headers
- Support for zstdio decompression
- Appended Signature Secure Boot support for PowerPC systems
Additionally, the update addresses various improvements, including date handling outside the 1901-2038 range, version 1.11 support of the libgcrypt library, and multiple EFI code enhancements. Various fixes have also been made, targeting TPM driver issues, CVE and Coverity vulnerabilities, and filesystem-related bugs.
You can download GRUB 2.14 directly from the official website if you’re a distribution maintainer looking to implement the latest version of this bootloader into your system.
This release comes over two years after GRUB 2.12, which remains the default in many well-known distributions such as openSUSE Tumbleweed and Debian 13 “Trixie.” Some distributions, including Arch Linux and Ubuntu, are utilizing a developmental version of GRUB 2.14.
GNU GRUB evolved from the original GRUB, designed by Erich Stefan Boleyn, and the GRUB 2 series has since replaced GRUB Legacy, which is no longer in active development.