FreeBSD 13.4 Released with Key Maintenance Enhancements

The latest maintenance update for FreeBSD 13.4 is now available, bringing subtle yet essential enhancements to the system. While it may not introduce any major changes or visible tweaks to the user interface, this update focuses on significant behind-the-scenes improvements that enhance security, stability, and compatibility.

Released on April 13th, 2021, FreeBSD 13.x has seen a series of updates, with this being the fifth in the 13-STABLE branch. The updates provide crucial bug fixes, driver enhancements, and updates to numerous third-party applications.

Here’s a closer look at some of the key improvements and updates included in FreeBSD 13.4:

– The integration of atf 0.22 snapshot 55c21b2c.
– Significant updates to bc, now at version 6.7.6, and libarchive, updated to 3.7.4.
– Enhancements to capsicum-test with the latest snapshot eab7a83b.
– Added support for SIM7600G to the u3g(4) driver.
– Numerous stability improvements to both native and LinuxKPI-based wireless drivers, backed by The FreeBSD Foundation.
– Introduced SCTP checksum offload support within the loopback interface.
– New temperature reading capabilities for AMD Ryzen 7 Phoenix processors (family 0x19, models 0x70 to 0x7f) via amdsmn(4) and amdtemp(4).

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These under-the-hood adjustments illustrate FreeBSD’s commitment to providing a robust and secure system, ensuring users benefit from the latest technological advancements even without dramatic interface overhauls.