What’s New in Debian 12.1 Bookworm? A Summary of the Latest Features and Fixes

Debian 12.1 Bookworm is the first point release of the Debian 12 stable series, bringing 89 bug fixes and 26 security updates. Here are some of the highlights of this update.

Debian is one of the oldest and most popular Linux distributions, known for its stability, security and versatility. The Debian project releases a new stable version every two years, with point releases every six weeks to provide bug fixes and security updates.

The current stable version of Debian is 12, codenamed Bookworm. It was initially released on June 10th, 2023, and introduced many major changes, such as a new archive area for non-free firmware, support for Secure Boot on ARM64, updated software packages and more.

On July 22nd, 2023, the Debian project released the first point release of Debian 12, version 12.1. This update brings 89 bug fixes and 26 security updates to various packages and components of the operating system. In this article, we will summarize some of the most notable features and fixes that Debian 12.1 Bookworm offers.

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Updated Software Packages

Debian 12.1 Bookworm includes updated versions of many software packages that are part of the Debian stable repository. Some of these updates are:

• Apache 2.4.57: The latest version of the popular web server software, which fixes several bugs and security issues.
• Emacs 28.2: The newest release of the extensible text editor and development environment, which adds support for native compilation, dynamic modules, portable dumper and more.
• GIMP 2.10.34: The latest stable release of the GNU Image Manipulation Program, which improves performance, stability and usability.
• LibreOffice 7.4: The newest major release of the free and open source office suite, which adds new features such as a dark mode, a new sidebar design, improved compatibility with Microsoft Office formats and more.
• Linux kernel 6.1 series: The latest stable series of the Linux kernel, which brings many improvements to performance, security and hardware support.
• OpenJDK 17: The newest long-term support release of the open source implementation of Java, which adds new features such as sealed classes, pattern matching for switch expressions and statements, text blocks and more.
• Perl 5.36: The latest stable release of the general-purpose programming language, which fixes several bugs and security issues.
• PHP 8.2: The newest major release of the widely used scripting language for web development, which adds new features such as enums, readonly properties, match expressions and more.
• Python 3.11.2: The latest minor release of the popular programming language, which fixes several bugs and security issues.
• Rustc 1.63: The newest stable release of the systems programming language, which adds new features such as const generics MVP (minimal viable product), inline assembly support and more.
• Vim 9.0: The newest major release of the powerful text editor, which introduces a new scripting language that is faster and easier to use than Vimscript.

New Packages

Debian 12.1 Bookworm also introduces some new packages that were not available in Debian 12.0. Some of these packages are:

• astap: A free image stacking and astrometry resolution program for astronomy.
• openvlbi: An open source software correlator for very long baseline interferometry (VLBI).
• planetary-system-stacker: A free software for stacking planetary images.
• shiny-server: A web server that simplifies hosting and managing interactive web applications using R.

Bug Fixes and Security Updates

Debian 12.1 Bookworm also provides bug fixes and security updates to many packages and components of the operating system. Some of these fixes and updates are:

• Fixed a regression in cryptsetup that caused boot failures on some systems with encrypted root partitions.
• Fixed a bug in dovecot that prevented mail delivery on some systems with SELinux enabled.
• Fixed a bug in exim that caused mail loss on some systems with multiple delivery agents.
• Fixed a bug in gnu-c-library that caused segmentation faults on some systems with musl libc installed.
• Fixed a bug in lighthttpd that caused memory leaks on some systems with mod_auth enabled.
• Fixed a bug in nginx that caused connection failures on some systems with IPv6 enabled.
• Fixed a bug in openssh that caused authentication failures on some systems with GSSAPI enabled.
• Fixed a bug in postfix that caused mail delivery delays on some systems with greylisting enabled.
• Fixed a bug in samba that caused file corruption on some systems with SMB3 encryption enabled.
• Fixed a bug in systemd that caused boot failures on some systems with LUKS2 encrypted partitions.
• Fixed a bug in vim that caused syntax highlighting errors on some files with mixed line endings.
• Fixed several security issues in apache, bind, gimp, gnu-c-library, inkscape, libreoffice, linux, openjdk, openssh, perl, php, python, rustc and vim.

Conclusion

Debian 12.1 Bookworm is the first point release of the Debian 12 stable series, bringing 89 bug fixes and 26 security updates. It is recommended for all users of Debian 12 to upgrade to this version as soon as possible. To obtain and install Debian 12.1 Bookworm, see the installation information page and the Installation Guide. To upgrade from an older Debian release, see the instructions in the Release Notes.

Debian 12.1 Bookworm is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Debian project and its contributors, who strive to provide a reliable and secure operating system for everyone. We hope you enjoy using Debian 12.1 Bookworm as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Sources:

• 9 to 5 Linux: Debian 12.1 “Bookworm” Released with 89 Bug Fixes and 26 Security Updates
• Debian: Debian Releases
• Phoronix: Debian 12.1 Released With Many Bug Fixes

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