Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server RHEL 8 Update Version 4.18.0-80

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0 release notes for RHEL 8 describe the initial platform release, including the 4.18.0-80 kernel, new AppStream/BaseOS packaging, system-wide crypto policies, nftables-based networking, and major installer, storage, and virtualization changes.

• System-wide cryptographic policies are enabled by default for TLS, IPsec, SSH, DNSSEC, and Kerberos, with update-crypto-policies to switch modes.
• OpenSSH 7.8p1 removes SSHv1, weak ciphers, and DSA by default; UsePrivilegeSeparation=sandbox is mandatory.
• Libreswan defaults to IKEv2 and removes weak/default algorithms such as 3DES, SHA1, and older Diffie-Hellman groups.
• SELinux adds new policy capabilities and booleans, including support for map permission checks and getrlimit control.
• Compile-time hardening flags are applied more consistently, including stack protection, FORTIFY, PIE/PIC, and full CFI on x86_64.
• RPM now validates the entire package payload before installation, improving protection against corrupted or tampered packages.
• KCM replaces KEYRING as the default Kerberos credential cache backend, improving container suitability.
• Session recording with tlog is added for auditing security-sensitive systems.
• securetty is disabled by default, reducing reliance on static TTY allowlists.
• CVE-2017-5715 Spectre V2 mitigation defaults to Retpolines on supported Intel systems; IBRS can be selected with spectre_v2=ibrs.

• PackageKit can operate on RPM packages.
• iscsiadm no longer terminates unexpectedly at higher print levels.
• multipathd no longer disables paths when WWID lookup fails.
• ltrace prints large structures correctly.
• GDB exits with a nonzero status when the last batch command fails.
• __builtin_clz on IBM Z returns correct values in GCC.
• QEMU fixes incorrect handling of 8-byte GGTT entries.
• pcs correctly parses cluster XML status and handles renamed fence-agent parameters.
• dnf and yum can access repositories correctly when subscription-manager proxy settings are used.
• cloud-init disk reconnection on Azure is more reliable after stop/deallocate cycles.

• AppStream and BaseOS repositories introduce modular content delivery.
• YUM v4 is based on DNF and supports modular content with improved performance.
• Image Builder can create customized system images for cloud, VM, ISO, and filesystem targets.
• The web console adds firewall management, IdM integration, mobile browser support, and VM management.
• Anaconda supports LUKS2, NVDIMM installation, system purpose, modular package installation, and inst.addrepo.
• nftables replaces iptables as the default packet-filtering framework, and firewalld uses it by default.
• GNOME Shell 3.28 and Wayland are the defaults for the desktop session.
• qemu-kvm 2.12 adds Q35, UEFI boot, vCPU hotplug, guest I/O threading, and sandboxing.
• XFS supports shared copy-on-write extents by default, and LUKS2 becomes the default encrypted-volume format.
• Pacemaker 2.0.0 and pcs add Corosync 3, knet, node names, and improved fencing history handling.

• tlog-enabled users cannot log in to the RHEL web console because the shell must be listed in /etc/shells.
• auth and authconfig Kickstart commands require the AppStream repository via authselect-compat.
• reboot --kexec and inst.kexec do not provide a predictable system state.
• Installation can fail if partitions are busy when the partition table is written.
• podman checkpoint fails because the bundled CRIU version is too old.
• libssh does not follow system-wide crypto policy settings.
• virt-install cannot use NFS locations directly as --location.
• nftables does not support multi-dimensional IP set types.
• sssd may return incomplete Active Directory group member lists above 1500 members.
• IdM server does not work in FIPS mode when a certificate server is installed.

• RHEL 8.0 is distributed with kernel 4.18.0-80.
• The default repositories are BaseOS and AppStream; CodeReady Linux Builder is available for unsupported developer packages.
• yum is now an alias to dnf; legacy YUM v3 Python APIs are no longer available.
• nfsnobody is merged into nobody with UID 65534.
• Network scripts are deprecated; use NetworkManager and nmcli.
• authselect replaces authconfig for authentication setup.
• update-crypto-policies --set LEGACY re-enables deprecated TLS 1.0/1.1 when required.
• For XFS with DAX, disable reflink with mkfs.xfs -m reflink=0.
• nftables debugging uses xtables-monitor -t or nft monitor trace, not dmesg.
• systemd-resolved is available only as a Technology Preview.

Product Information

Vendor: Red Hat

Product: Enterprise Linux Server

Product type: Software

Application category: Utilities

Platform: Linux

Variant: RHEL 8

Version: 4.18.0-80

Vendor information published: May 7, 2019

Original release notes: View on vendor site

Published on updatealert.io: Aug 8, 2026