This Week in TUXEDO OS #31-2026 - TUXEDO Computers

Hello TUXEDO Fans and Open-Source Enthusiasts!

Artificial intelligence has long since arrived in software development and is unlikely to be stopped. This makes the current debate within Debian all the more interesting. The project is controversially discussing whether AI-assisted contributions should be banned entirely in the future or permitted under clear rules. You can follow the discussion via the proposal for a complete AI ban and the counterproposal with clear rules.

The decision could have implications far beyond Debian and set a precedent for the entire open-source world. At the heart of the debate are questions of quality, transparency, copyright, and accountability when using generative AI. Although no decision has been made yet, many free software projects are already following the developments closely and may use the outcome to shape their own policies.

In this issue, we also introduce Sane Break, a KDE application that reminds you to take regular breaks, as well as PiroStats, which displays important system information directly in the Plasma panel. As usual, we also take a look at the latest package and software updates that TUXEDO OS has received over the past few days.

Enjoy reading,
The TUXEDO OS Team

Updates in TUXEDO OS

KDE Plasma 6.6.4/6.6.5

• KDE Plasma updated to version 6.6.4/6.6.5
• KDE Frameworks updated to version 6.24.0
• KDE Gear updated to version 25.12.3
• Qt updated to version 6.10.2

TUXEDO OS receives a comprehensive update of the KDE Plasma desktop environment. The update brings key components of the desktop to current versions and includes numerous improvements from the KDE ecosystem (More information and update notes).

PipeWire 1.6.8

• Fixed a race condition in JACK that could cause lost MIDI events in Ardour
• Fixed issues with unbounded memory allocations
• Release Notes

Firefox 153.0.1

• Updated to Firefox 153.0.1
• Includes various bug fixes and security improvements
• Release Notes

Thunderbird 153.0.1 ESR

• Updated to Thunderbird 153.0.1 ESR
• Includes various bug fixes and improvements
• Release Notes

Current TUXEDO OS ISO

The current TUXEDO OS ISO includes the following components:

• KDE Plasma 6.6.4/6.6.5
• KDE Frameworks 6.24.0
• KDE Gear 25.12.3
• Qt 6.10.2
• Firefox 153.0.1
• Latest Ubuntu packages from 27 July 2026

KDE App of the Week: Sane Break reminds you to take breaks

When working at a computer for long periods, it is easy to forget to take regular breaks. This is where Sane Break comes in. The small open-source application not only reminds you to take short breaks but also tries to integrate them sensibly into your workflow. Instead of suddenly interrupting your work, the application first announces upcoming breaks in a subtle way.

Breaks for focused work

Sane Break uses a two-stage approach: First, an unobtrusive notification appears, giving you time to find a suitable moment to pause your work. If you ignore the reminder for too long, the application switches to the actual break mode and displays a larger break window.

The application can be configured extensively. Among other things, you can define the duration of short and longer breaks, postpone reminders, or take specific applications into account. This makes Sane Break particularly suitable for focused work sessions where you do not want to constantly keep an eye on the clock.

More balance in everyday digital life

On TUXEDO OS, Sane Break can be installed particularly easily via the Discover software manager as a Flatpak. Open Discover and search for „Sane Break“. Select the matching entry and click Install. The application is then automatically set up as a Flatpak.

After installation, you will find Sane Break in the KDE Plasma application menu. When starting it for the first time, you can adjust the desired break intervals and other settings to match your workflow. Since Flatpak applications are installed separately from the base system, the installation remains independent from regular system packages.

If you regularly spend many hours in front of a screen, Sane Break provides an easy way to encourage healthier work habits. The application does not replace proper exercise breaks, of course, but it helps ensure that short interruptions do not completely disappear from your daily routine.

TUXEDO OS Tips & Tricks: System information with PiroStats in the Plasma panel

With PiroStats, you can integrate compact system monitoring directly into the panel of TUXEDO OS. The Plasma widget displays important information such as processor load, memory usage, temperatures, GPU utilization, network traffic, and running processes. This allows you to keep an eye on the most important system values without having to open additional applications.

System values directly in the panel

PiroStats consists of two components: a background service that collects the metrics and a Plasma applet that displays this information in the panel. This separation ensures that data collection works independently from the graphical interface. As a result, the display remains reliable and resource-efficient even during longer sessions.

Installation on TUXEDO OS is performed directly from the source code. First, open a terminal and download the project from GitHub. Then switch to the project directory and start the installation script:

git clone https://github.com/lucazade/pirostats.git
cd pirostats
./install.sh

The script sets up the required service and installs the Plasma widget for your user account. Once the installation is complete, you need to restart Plasma or log out and back in once so that the new extension appears in the widget selection.

Configure the widget and customize views

Afterwards, right-click the panel and select Add Widgets. Search for PiroStats and drag the widget to the desired position in the panel. You can then adjust the appearance using the widget settings, for example by selecting the displayed values or configuring the update intervals.

The navigation directly from the panel is particularly convenient. Using the mouse wheel, you can switch between different views and access additional information about individual system areas. In addition to the compact overview, detailed information about CPU cores, memory usage, graphics cards, or network activity is available.

Monitoring without additional applications

PiroStats is especially useful for users who like to keep an eye on their system or monitor the effects of applications and configuration changes. Unlike traditional monitoring tools, the display remains unobtrusive in the background and integrates seamlessly into the Plasma desktop of TUXEDO OS.

If certain metrics are missing, first check whether the required system information is available. Some values, such as temperature sensors or fan speeds, depend on the hardware and loaded kernel modules. On TUXEDO notebooks, you benefit from the strong support for modern Linux hardware.

Ubuntu Security Updates

The Ubuntu security updates listed here are generally incorporated directly into TUXEDO OS. Some updates are only available from Ubuntu for a fee and are therefore not made available to the community until a later date. Unfortunately, we have no control over this:

• USN-8625–1: OpenSSL vulnerability: It was discovered that OpenSSL incorrectly allocated memory buffers in the SSL/TLS state machine when receiving handshake data. A remote attacker…
  IDs: -
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 26.04, Ubuntu 22.04

• USN-8623–1: Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities: Several security issues were discovered in the Linux kernel. An attacker could possibly use these to compromise the system. This update corrects…
  IDs: CVE-2026–53354, CVE-2026–64520
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04

• USN-8622–1: Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities: Several security issues were discovered in the Linux kernel. An attacker could possibly use these to compromise the system. This update corrects…
  IDs: CVE-2026–53354, CVE-2026–64520
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 26.04

• USN-8561–2: FreeRDP regression: USN-8561–1 fixed vulnerabilities in FreeRDP. Unfortunately, the upgrade to version 3.30.0 introduced a regression in the clipboard functionality…
  IDs: -
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 26.04

• USN-8621–1: Samba vulnerabilities: It was discovered that Samba’s pam_winbind incorrectly handled home directory ownership when mkhomedir was enabled. A local attacker could possibly…
  IDs: CVE-2026–58224, CVE-2026–6949, CVE-2026–58221, CVE-2026–58218 plus 3 others
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 26.04, Ubuntu 22.04

• USN-8595–3: Linux kernel (AWS) vulnerabilities: It was discovered that some AMD processors did not properly clear data in the floating point divider unit during speculative execution. A local…
  IDs: CVE-2026–46073, CVE-2026–46113, CVE-2026–46187, CVE-2026–31781 plus 908 others
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04

• USN-8574–3: Linux kernel vulnerabilities: It was discovered that some AMD processors did not properly clear data in the floating point divider unit during speculative execution. A local…
  IDs: CVE-2026–46073, CVE-2026–46113, CVE-2026–46187, CVE-2026–31781 plus 909 others
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04

• USN-8570–2: Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities: Several security issues were discovered in the Linux kernel. An attacker could possibly use these to compromise the system. This update corrects…
  IDs: CVE-2026–23057, CVE-2026–23118, CVE-2025–71185, CVE-2026–23089 plus 199 others
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04

• USN-8613–1: FreeIPMI vulnerabilities: Zhihan Zheng discovered that FreeIPMI had several buffer overflow vulnerabilities in ipmi-oem response message handling. A local attacker with…
  IDs: CVE-2026–33554, CVE-2026–50031
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 26.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 14.04

• USN-8611–1: GNU C Library vulnerabilities: It was discovered that the GNU C Library iconv function incorrectly handled certain IBM character sets. An attacker could possibly use this issue to…
  IDs: CVE-2026–5450, CVE-2026–4438, CVE-2026–5928, CVE-2026–6238 plus 3 others
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 26.04, Ubuntu 22.04

• USN-8608–1: Linux kernel (Azure FIPS) vulnerabilities: It was discovered that some AMD processors did not properly clear data in the floating point divider unit during speculative execution. A local…
  IDs: CVE-2026–46073, CVE-2026–46113, CVE-2026–46187, CVE-2026–31781 plus 910 others
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04

• USN-8607–1: Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities: It was discovered that some AMD processors did not properly clear data in the floating point divider unit during speculative execution. A local…
  IDs: CVE-2026–46073, CVE-2026–46113, CVE-2026–46187, CVE-2026–31781 plus 1201 others
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04

• USN-8606–1: Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities: It was discovered that some AMD processors did not properly clear data in the floating point divider unit during speculative execution. A local…
  IDs: CVE-2026–46073, CVE-2026–46113, CVE-2026–46187, CVE-2026–31781 plus 1206 others
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04

• USN-8595–2: Linux kernel (AWS) vulnerabilities: It was discovered that some AMD processors did not properly clear data in the floating point divider unit during speculative execution. A local…
  IDs: CVE-2026–46073, CVE-2026–46113, CVE-2026–46187, CVE-2026–31781 plus 908 others
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04

• USN-8605–1: Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities: Several security issues were discovered in the Linux kernel. An attacker could possibly use these to compromise the system. This update corrects…
  IDs: CVE-2025–71190, CVE-2025–71163, CVE-2026–23160, CVE-2025–71182 plus 262 others
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04

• USN-8604–1: Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities: Several security issues were discovered in the Linux kernel. An attacker could possibly use these to compromise the system. This update corrects…
  IDs: CVE-2026–23057, CVE-2026–23118, CVE-2025–71185, CVE-2026–23089 plus 263 others
  Affects: Ubuntu 24.04

Current BIOS/EC Versions

An EC/BIOS update affects key system components. Please ensure that you follow the instructions carefully and take your time. The process is usually completed quickly. If you have any doubts, our support team is happy to assist you. The following devices have BIOS/EC updates available: