OpenBSD security update, insights on choosing BSDs in 2025, and FreeBSD SO_SPLICE enhancements and more.
Releases
No releases.
BSDSec
OpenBSD Errata: March 25, 2025 (freetype): Errata patch for FreeType has been released for OpenBSD 7.5. OpenBSD 7.6 is not affected. Binary updates for the amd64, arm64 and i386 platform are available via the syspatch utility.
As always, it’s worth following BSDSec. RSS feed available.
News
Valuable News – 2025/03/24: The Valuable News weekly series provides a curated summary of news, articles, and updates primarily related to UNIX, BSD, and Linux systems. This edition covers topics such as FreeBSD developments, hardware builds, life-related insights, and other interesting projects. Highlights include updates on FreeBSD’s bug backlog, GhostBSD experiences, OpenBSD advancements.
Why Choose BSDs in 2025: Insights from OSDay 2025: This post are notes for author’s presentation at OSDay 2025 in Florence highlights the enduring relevance of BSD systems in 2025. Author emphasizes their stability, security, and performance, contrasting them with the mainstream “monoculture” of Linux, Docker, and Kubernetes. BSDs offer a coherent philosophy, excellent documentation, and tools designed for consistency and reliability. FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD are introduced, showcasing their unique strengths in security, portability, and long-term support. Author advocates for evaluating alternatives to mainstream tools, promoting freedom and stability in an increasingly complex technological landscape.
fw_update(8) Now Supports Arbitrary dmesg Files for Firmware Updates: The recent update to fw_update(8) introduces support for arbitrary dmesg files, allowing users to specify custom dmesg logs for firmware detection. This change addresses issues with installing firmware on systems lacking direct download access and simplifies testing for devices using custom dmesg logs. The update also adjusts the OpenBSD version detection mechanism to rely on dmesg instead of sysctl, while still allowing sysupgrade to override settings. This enhancement is particularly beneficial for users installing OpenBSD on hardware that requires firmware not included in the default install media.
BSD Now 603: Expanding the RAID-Z: OpenZFS RAID-Z Expansion: A New Era in Storage Flexibility, ZFS Orchestration Tools – Part 1: Snapshots, The Case of UNIX vs. The UNIX System, OpenBGPD 8.8 released, OPNsense 25.1, and more.
Tutorials
Network Offload and Socket Splicing (SO_SPLICE) in FreeBSD: FreeBSD’s SO_SPLICE enables kernel-level TCP proxying, reducing CPU overhead by eliminating unnecessary data copying and system call overhead. This feature improves network efficiency, lowers latency, and enhances throughput. Available in FreeBSD 14.2, it provides a streamlined solution for high-performance proxying. Benchmarks show reduced CPU usage and increased throughput compared to traditional userspace proxying. Klara Systems implemented this feature, demonstrating its effectiveness in real-world scenarios. Future enhancements may include UDP support and integration with FreeBSD’s kernel TLS (KTLS).
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