Ubuntu 16.04.6 now available, fixes a serious security flaw in APT

Ubuntu 16.04.6 now available

Just like we anticipated you Monday, Canonical released Ubuntu 16.04.6 today. Lucasz Zemczak advanced it in an informative note, where he also told us that the launch was not planned. The problem is that the bug they fixed was a serious security flaw in APT and we already know that Canonical, like practically the entire Linux community, takes security very seriously. The launch took place a few hours ago and it is now available both for downloading and for updating from Ubuntu 16.04.x ​​with the command that we will provide later.

In the release note for this release, Zemczak says that “Unlike other point-something releases, 16.04.6 is a security-oriented version for the purpose of providing updated installation media that protects new installations from the recently discovered APT vulnerability. Many other high-impact security updates have also been included, focusing on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 16.04.«.

Ubuntu 16.04.6 has focused only on security

Along with the new Ubuntu version, there are also new v16.04.6 for Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Mythbuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Kylin, and Ubuntu MATE. Ubuntu Budgie and Ubuntu Studio are not listed and they do not give any explanation about it, so we cannot know for sure if or when they will release a new version for those two flavors. Hopefully the answers are "yes" and "soon."

To update Ubuntu 16.04.x ​​to v16.04.6 we can open a terminal and write the command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt dist-upgrade

The new version should also appear in Ubuntu Software. The new images are also available on the Ubuntu release website, where you can access from HERE.

We remember that Ubuntu 16.04 is an LTS version or Long Term Support that will have support for 5 years, that is, until 2021.