LibreCMC

Last updated
LibreCMC
Dark libreCMC Logo.png
OS family Linux (Unix-like)
Working stateActive
Initial release20 October 2012;11 years ago (2012-10-20)
Latest release 1.5.14  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg / 3 October 2023;4 months ago (3 October 2023)
Repository
Available in English
Platforms MIPS
Kernel type Monolithic (Linux-libre)
Userland GNU
License GPLv2 [1] [2]
Preceded by LEDE/LibreWRT
Official website librecmc.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

LibreCMC is a Linux-libre distribution for computers with minimal resources, such as the Ben NanoNote, ath9k-based Wi-Fi routers, and other hardware with emphasis on free software. Based on OpenWrt, the project's goal is to aim for compliance with the GNU Free System Distribution Guidelines (GNU FSDG) and ensure that the project continues to meet these requirements set forth by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). LibreCMC does not support ac (Wi-Fi 5) or ax (Wi-Fi 6) due to a lack of free chipsets. [3]

Contents

As of 2020, releases do not utilize codenames anymore. The acronym "CMC" in the libreCMC name stands for "Concurrent Machine Cluster". [4]

History

On April 23, 2014, libreCMC's first public release is mentioned in a Trisquel Linux forum. [5] On September 4, 2014, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) added libreCMC to its list of endorsed distributions. [6] [7] Shortly afterwards, on September 12, 2014, the FSF awarded their Respects Your Freedom (RYF) Certification to a new router pre-installed with libreCMC. [8]

On May 2, 2015, libreCMC merged with the LibreWRT project. [9] [10] [11] [12] LibreWRT, initially developed as a case study, was listed by the website prism-break.org [13] as one of the alternatives to proprietary firmware, [14] but today the website lists libreCMC.

On March 10, 2016, the FSF awarded their RYF certification to a new router pre-installed with libreCMC. [15]

On March 29, 2017, libreCMC began its first release based upon the LEDE (Linux Embedded Development Environment) 17.01 codebase. [16]

On January 3, 2020, libreCMC began its first release based upon the OpenWrt 19.07 codebase. [16]

Release history

VersionCodenameCodebaseReleaseLinux-Libre Kernel VersionAnnotation / Improvements
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.2.xDelusional Dan [17] 2014First public binary release [17]
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.3.xElegant Eleanor [17] 2015LibreWRT merged to the project, LTS
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.4Frivolous Fred [17] LEDE 17.0129 March 2017Release based on LEDE
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.4.17 October 2017Fixes various security issues (including dnsmasq and openvpn)
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.4.1a17 October 2017Fixes various security issues including: dnsmasq, openvpn and KRACK
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.4.21 January 20184.4.108
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.4.31 April 20184.4.120
  • openvpn 2.4.5
  • mbedtls 2.8.0
  • Tor was moved into base
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.4.46 July 20184.4.138
  • openvpn 2.4.6
  • mbedtls 2.9.0
  • Various other fixes
  • Complete removal of references to GitHub repositories
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.4.54 October 20184.4.159
  • wireguard 0.0.20181006
  • Introduced TL-WR1043N v5
  • Various other fixes
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.4.64 Jan 20194.4.167
  • uhttpd 2018-11-28
  • Wireguard 0.0.20181218
  • openssl 1.0.2q
  • mbedtls 2.14.1
  • Various other fixes
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.4.71 April 2019
  • Fixes CVE 2019-8912
  • Bump OpenVPN to 2.4.7
  • Added support for the TPE-R1200
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.4.830 June 20194.4.183
  • OpenSSL 1.0.2s
  • wolfssl 1.15-stable
  • mbedtls 1.16.1
  • Wireguard 0.2019.06.01
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.4.92 October 20194.4.195
  • OpenSSL 1.0.2t
  • Tor 0.4.1.6
  • Wireguard 0.0.20190913
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5N/AOpenWRT 19.073 January 2020
  • ath79 replaces ar71xx targets
  • tiny sub-target replaces the old legacy images
  • First release built on Power9 hardware
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.0aN/A31 January 2020
  • Fixes CVE - 2020-7982
  • Fixes CVE - 2020-7248
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.1N/A1 April 20204.14.173
  • Updated Wireguard to 1.0.20200330
  • Updated Tor to 0.4.2.7 to fix CVE - 2020-10592 and init script issues
  • Fixes CVE - 2020-8597
  • Other fixes picked from upstream 19.07.x
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.2N/A29 June 2020
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.3N/A2 October 20204.14.199
  • Updated Wireguard to 1.0.20200908
  • Added wolfssl support to luci
  • OpenSSL 1.1.1h
  • Mbedtls 2.16.8
  • Other fixes picked from upstream 19.07.x
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.4N/A31 December 20204.14.212
  • Updated Wireguard to 1.0.20201221
  • OpenSSL 1.1.1i
  • OpenVPN 2.4.10
  • Fixes CVE-2020-28928, CVE-2020-8037
  • Other fixes picked from upstream 19.07.x
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.4aN/A24 January 20214.14.216
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.5N/A1 April 20214.14.224
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.7N/A1 October 20214.14.248
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.8N/A21 January 20224.14.261
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.9N/A4 April 20224.14.273
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.10N/A28 June 20224.14.284
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.12N/A24 January 20234.14.303
  • wolfssl 5.5.4-stable
  • openssl 1.1.1s
  • Adds support for the TPE-R1400, a rockchip RK3328 based router
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.13N/A1 April 20234.14.311
  • openssl 1.1.1t
  • openvpn 2.5.8, which adds wolfssl support
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.5.14N/A29 September 20234.14.325
  • openssl 1.1.1w
  • wolfssl 5.6.3
  • openvpn 2.5.9
  • tor 0.4.8.5
Current stable version:1.5.15N/A31 December 20234.14.334
  • wolfssl 5.6.6

List of supported hardware

LibreCMC supports the following devices: [18]

Buffalo (Melco subsidiary)

Netgear

TP-Link

ThinkPenguin

Qi-Hardware

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free software</span> Software licensed to be freely used, modified and distributed

Free software, libre software, or libreware is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, not price; all users are legally free to do what they want with their copies of a free software regardless of how much is paid to obtain the program. Computer programs are deemed "free" if they give end-users ultimate control over the software and, subsequently, over their devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNU</span> Free software collection

GNU is an extensive collection of free software, which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operating systems popularly known as Linux. Most of GNU is licensed under the GNU Project's own General Public License (GPL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNU Project</span> Free software project

The GNU Project is a free software, mass collaboration project announced by Richard Stallman on September 27, 1983. Its goal is to give computer users freedom and control in their use of their computers and computing devices by collaboratively developing and publishing software that gives everyone the rights to freely run the software, copy and distribute it, study it, and modify it. GNU software grants these rights in its license.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNU/Linux naming controversy</span> Issues of what to call a system with the GNU toolchain and the Linux kernel

Within the free software and the open-source software communities there is controversy over whether to refer to computer operating systems that use a combination of GNU software and the Linux kernel as "GNU/Linux" or "Linux" systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light-weight Linux distribution</span> Operating system with low resource requirements

A light-weight Linux distribution is one that uses lower memory and/or has less processor-speed requirements than a more "feature-rich" Linux distribution. The lower demands on hardware ideally result in a more responsive machine, and/or allow devices with fewer system resources to be used productively. The lower memory and/or processor-speed requirements are achieved by avoiding software bloat, i.e. by leaving out features that are perceived to have little or no practical use or advantage, or for which there is no or low demand.

Technical variations of Linux distributions include support for different hardware devices and systems or software package configurations. Organizational differences may be motivated by historical reasons. Other criteria include security, including how quickly security upgrades are available; ease of package management; and number of packages available.

This comparison only covers software licenses which have a linked Wikipedia article for details and which are approved by at least one of the following expert groups: the Free Software Foundation, the Open Source Initiative, the Debian Project and the Fedora Project. For a list of licenses not specifically intended for software, see List of free-content licences.

gNewSense Linux distribution

gNewSense was a Linux distribution, active from 2006 to 2016. It was based on Debian, and developed with sponsorship from the Free Software Foundation. Its goal was user-friendliness, but with all proprietary and non-free software removed. The Free Software Foundation considered gNewSense to be composed entirely of free software.

GNU variants are operating systems based upon the GNU operating system. According to the GNU project and others, these also include most operating systems using the Linux kernel and a few others using BSD-based kernels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trisquel</span> Linux distribution based on Ubuntu

Trisquel is a computer operating system, a Linux distribution, derived from another distribution, Ubuntu. The project aims for a fully free software system without proprietary software or firmware and uses a version of Ubuntu's modified kernel, with the non-free code removed. Trisquel relies on user donations. Its logo is a triskelion, a Celtic symbol. Trisquel is listed by the Free Software Foundation as a distribution that contains only free software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNU IceCat</span> Firefox derivative recommending only free software

GNU IceCat, formerly known as GNU IceWeasel, is a completely free version of the Mozilla Firefox web browser distributed by the GNU Project. It is compatible with Linux, Windows, Android and macOS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNU General Public License</span> Series of free software licenses

The GNU General Public License is a series of widely used free software licenses or copyleft that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general use and was originally written by Richard Stallman, the founder of the Free Software Foundation (FSF), for the GNU Project. The license grants the recipients of a computer program the rights of the Free Software Definition. These GPL series are all copyleft licenses, which means that any derivative work must be distributed under the same or equivalent license terms. It is more restrictive than the Lesser General Public License and even further distinct from the more widely used permissive software licenses BSD, MIT, and Apache.

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985, to support the free software movement, with the organization's preference for software being distributed under copyleft terms, such as with its own GNU General Public License. The FSF was incorporated in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, where it is also based.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandre Oliva</span>

Alexandre "Alex" Oliva, is a Brazilian free software activist, developer, former vice president of the board of directors of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and founding member of Free Software Foundation Latin America (FSFLA). He is currently on-hold from his PhD studies at the Institute of Computing of the State University of Campinas, Brazil whilst working as a compiler engineer at Red Hat, contributing in the GCC compiler. He is the maintainer of Linux-libre, a fork of the Linux kernel which removes non-free software components, such as binary blobs from the kernel. The Linux-libre kernels are used in Linux distributions such as Parabola GNU/Linux-libre and Trisquel, all of which are recommended by the Free Software Foundation and the GNU Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linux-libre</span> Version of the Linux kernel without proprietary code

According to the Free Software Foundation Latin America, Linux-libre is a modified version of the Linux kernel that contains no binary blobs, obfuscated code, or code released under proprietary licenses. In the Linux kernel, they are mostly used for proprietary firmware images. While generally redistributable, binary blobs do not give the user the freedom to audit, modify, or, consequently, redistribute their modified versions. The GNU Project keeps Linux-libre in synchronization with the mainline Linux kernel.

OpenWrt is an open-source project for embedded operating systems based on Linux, primarily used on embedded devices to route network traffic. The main components are Linux, util-linux, musl, and BusyBox. All components have been optimized to be small enough to fit into the limited storage and memory available in home routers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parabola GNU/Linux-libre</span> Linux distribution based on Arch Linux offering only free software

Parabola GNU/Linux-libre is a free and open-source Linux distribution based on Arch Linux and Arch Linux ARM for the x86-64, i686, and ARMv7 architectures. It is distinguished from other Arch-based distributions by offering only free software. It includes the GNU operating system components common to many Linux distributions and the Linux-libre kernel instead of the generic Linux kernel. Parabola is listed by the Free Software Foundation as a completely free operating system, true to their Free System Distribution Guidelines.

Router software requires updating to stay secure, this comparison provides an overview of third party options.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre</span> Linux distribution based on Arch Linux

Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre is a Linux distribution for the i686 and x86-64 architectures. It is based on Arch Linux snapshots and Debian development. It includes the GNU operating system components and the Linux-libre kernel instead of the generic Linux kernel. Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre is listed by the Free Software Foundation as a completely free operating system, true to their Free System Distribution Guidelines.

References

  1. ↑ "libreCMC 1.5.x LICENSE file" . Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  2. ↑ "List of Free GNU/Linux Distributions" . Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "libreCMC FAQ". librecmc.org. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  4. ↑ "libreCMC: libreCMC". 2014-07-12. Archived from the original on 2014-07-12. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  5. ↑ "LibreCMC: Free Software Router Distribution Beta | Trisquel GNU/Linux - Run free!". 2014-04-23. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  6. ↑ "Free Software Foundation adds libreCMC to its list of endorsed distributions — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". www.fsf.org. 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  7. ↑ "Free Software Supporter - Issue 78, September 2014 — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". www.fsf.org. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  8. ↑ "ThinkPenguin wireless router now FSF-certified to respect your freedom — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". www.fsf.org. 2014-09-12. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  9. ↑ "libreCMC: The libre embedded GNU/Linux distro". 2015-09-06. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  10. ↑ "libreCMC Project News". 2 May 2015. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  11. ↑ "LibreWRT: What we use for wifi at the FSF — Free Software Foundation — working together for free software". www.fsf.org. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  12. ↑ "List of Free GNU/Linux Distributions - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation".
  13. ↑ "Looking to hide online? PRISM-break shows you how". Telecom Tech News. 2013-06-14. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  14. ↑ Zhong, Peng. "LibreWRT - Projects - PRISM Break". Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "ThinkPenguin VPN mini-router now FSF-certified to respect your freedom — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". www.fsf.org. 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  16. 1 2 3 Version-Releases of LibreCMC. Website of the software developer. Accessed on June the 19th in 2019
  17. 1 2 3 4 "libreCMC : The libre Embedded GNU/Linux[-libre] distro". 2016-10-27. Archived from the original on 2016-10-27. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  18. ↑ "libreCMC: Supported_Hardware". librecmc.org.
  19. ↑ "Free Software Gigabit Mini VPN Router (TPE-R1400) from ThinkPenguin, Inc. now FSF-certified to Respect Your Freedom — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". www.fsf.org. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.