Canonical has announced that it will soon distribute hardware support (HWE) kernel updates through its Livepatch service. The first supported kernel is Linux 6.2, which will be released next week along with Ubuntu 23.04 “Lunar Lobster”.
Canonical is also planning to make the HWE kernel update available in the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS distribution in July.
The main thing to note is that Livepatch is an entitlement to the Ubuntu Pro subscription service, which allows you to upgrade the Linux kernel without rebooting.
Ubuntu Pro was officially released on January 27, 2023, and is available as a free subscription on up to 5 devices for personal and small business use.
Livepatch patches the Linux kernel while the system is running, eliminating the need for unplanned maintenance windows for high-severity and critical kernel vulnerabilities and reducing downtime and unplanned work.
