Tails 7.7.3 has been released as an emergency security update for the privacy-focused Linux distribution, addressing the critical Dirty Frag Linux kernel vulnerability.
This release upgrades the Linux kernel to version 6.12.86, which addresses Dirty Frag. The Tails team notes that an attacker who has already exploited another unknown vulnerability in a Tails application could use this kernel flaw to gain full control of the system and deanonymize the user.
The update also includes security-related upgrades to other components. Tor Browser is now at version 15.0.12, the Tor client at 0.4.9.8, and Thunderbird at 140.10.1.
For full technical details, refer to the changelog or the release announcement.
Tails 7.7.3 is available as an automatic upgrade for users running Tails 7.0 or later. Users unable to complete the automatic upgrade, or whose systems fail to start afterward, should perform a manual upgrade.
The project also offers new USB and ISO images for fresh installations. Existing users should upgrade their current Tails USB stick rather than reinstall, as installing Tails 7.7.3 on the same USB stick will erase Persistent Storage.
