Introducing AlmaLinux OS 9.3: A No-Cost Alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux

The AlmaLinux OS Foundation announced the release and general availability of AlmaLinux OS 9.3. This is the latest stable version of this free alternative to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 operating system.

The AlmaLinux OS 9.3 release, also known as “Shamrock Pampas Cat”, arrives nearly six months after AlmaLinux OS 9.2. The new version promises improvements in flexibility and reliability, enhancements in security for hybrid environments, simplified automation and system management, and upgraded security and compliance.

In this release, the Web Console has been updated to simplify management tasks. It introduces a feature allowing users to configure health check actions for Podman containers and vsock devices in virtual machines. Application Streams have been updated, providing developers with the flexibility and customization options they require.

AlmaLinux OS 9.3 delivers enhanced flexibility, stability, and reliability for hybrid cloud innovation. In the background, this distribution is powered by Linux kernel 5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 from the upstream Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 operating system.

The toolchain has seen some updates, with components such as GCC 11.4.1 being adopted as the default system compiler. You’ll also notice GCC 13, LLVM 16.0.6, Rust 1.71.1, Go 1.20.10, Keylime 7.3.0, Node.js 20, Redis 7, Apache 2.4.57, Grafana 9.2.10, PCP 6.0.5, Valgrind 3.21, SystemTap 4.9, elfutils 0.189, OpenSCAP 1.3.8, SEtools 4.4.3, and pcsc-lite-ccid 1.5.2 have been integrated as well.

Security-wise, there has been a profound improvement. The AlmaLinux OS 9.3 release now provides better support for the Extended Master Secret (EMS) extension (RFC 7627) which the FIPS-140-3 standard necessitates for all TLS 1.2 connections. Furthermore, the SCAP Security Guide has been updated to version 0.1.69. This new version introduces three new SCAP profiles that are in alignment with CCN-STIC-610A22 regulations and the ANSSI profiles 2.0.

You can download AlmaLinux 9.3 from the

official website. Variants for x86_64 (64-bit), AArch64 (ARM64), PPC64le (PowerPC 64-bit Little Endian), and s390x (IBM System z) architectures have been made available. You’ll also find live images preloaded with the GNOME, KDE Plasma, Xfce, and MATE desktops, along with Cloud and Container images.

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