Red Hat announces RHEL 10

BOSTON - RED HAT SUMMIT - May 20, 2025 —

Red Hat, the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today introduced Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, the evolution of the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform to help meet the dynamic demands of hybrid cloud and the transformative power of AI. More than just an iteration, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 provides a strategic and intelligent backbone for enterprise IT to navigate increasing complexity, accelerate innovation and build a more secure computing foundation for the future.

As enterprise IT grapples with the proliferation of hybrid environments and the imperative to integrate AI workloads, the need for an intelligent, resilient and durable operating system has never been greater. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 rises to this challenge, delivering a platform engineered for agility, flexibility and manageability, all while retaining a strong security posture against the software threats of the future.

Intelligent operations for complex environments: Introducing AI-powered Linux management with Lightspeed

According to a Red Hat-sponsored IDC study, “organizations [are] struggling to hire the Linux skill sets they need to operate and support their expanding fleet of distributions, which opens them up to further risk around security, compliance and application downtime. As technology demands continue to evolve and necessitate the use of more of these deployment scenarios and mechanisms, Red Hat is one of the few providers that can feasibly address all of them.”

Addressing this critical skills gap in Linux administration, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 introduces Red Hat Enterprise Linux Lightspeed. Integrating generative AI (gen AI) directly within the platform helps provide context-aware guidance and actionable recommendations through a natural language interface. Tapping decades of Red Hat Enterprise Linux-specific knowledge, it assists with tasks from troubleshooting common issues to best practices for managing complex IT estates. This empowers both newer and experienced IT professionals to manage vast Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments with greater efficiency by bringing AI-powered help straight to the command line in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.

Enhanced security features for the quantum frontier

Recognizing the long-term security implications of quantum computing, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 leads the industry as the first enterprise Linux distribution to integrate Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) compliance for post-quantum cryptography. This proactive approach equips organizations to better defend against future “harvest now; decrypt later” attacks and meet evolving regulatory requirements. This includes incorporating quantum-resistant algorithms to mitigate the risk of future decryption of currently harvested data and post-quantum signature schemes to validate the integrity and authenticity of software packages and TLS certificates.

Unifying hybrid infrastructure and shifting decision-making left

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 delivers a paradigm shift in enterprise operating systems with image mode. This container-native approach unifies the build, deployment and management of both the operating system and applications within a single, streamlined workflow. Customers can now manage their entire IT landscape, from containerized applications to the underlying platform, with the same consistent tools and techniques. This approach significantly minimizes configuration drift by proactively preventing unexpected patch deviations and establishing a unified set of practices for application developers and IT operations teams. 

IT organizations frequently need to make critical decisions at build time when it comes to the specific mix of packages in a standard operating environment (SOE). Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 adds Red Hat Insights image builder package recommendations to help teams make more informed and tailored package decisions for their specific deployment before they impact production. Additionally, Red Hat Insights planning offers a view into the Red Hat Enterprise Linux roadmap and lifecycle, enhancing the platform’s future-readiness.

From cloud-native to AI-ready: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 powers what’s next

Red Hat Enterprise Linux’s decades-long legacy as the trusted backbone for production environments extends with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, underpinning both current and future technology needs. The latest version of the platform serves as the bedrock for Red Hat AI, Red Hat’s curated and optimized AI solutions that encompass Red Hat AI Inference Server, Red Hat OpenShift AI and Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI).

Key additions in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 include capabilities and innovations to: 

• Get ready for the hybrid cloud, today with pre-tuned, fully supported and ready-to-run Red Hat Enterprise Linux images across AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure.
• Extend the IT toolkit by discovering community-supported software like Podman Desktop in a more secure and convenient manner via the Red Hat Enterprise Linux extensions repository.
• Innovate with confidence by benefiting from partner-validated solutions built on advanced hardware for AI and other demanding workloads, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with greater choice in production.
• Explore new architectures and get a head start on development for the RISC-V platform with a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 developer preview in collaboration with SiFive, offering early access to a more secure and reliable platform for the HiFive P550 RISC-V architecture.
• Fine-tune security strategies with greater choice and ease in Linux security through the upcoming Red Hat Enterprise Linux Security Select Add-On, which provides the ability to request fixes for up to 10 specific Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) annually.

Availability

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 is now generally available through the Red Hat Customer Portal. Developers can also access Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 via no-cost Red Hat Developer programs, offering a wealth of resources to get started, including software access, how-to videos, demos and documentation.

Red Hat Summit

Join the Red Hat Summit keynotes to hear the latest from Red Hat executives, customers and partners:

• Modernized infrastructure meets enterprise-ready AI— Tuesday, May 20, 8-10 a.m. EDT (YouTube)
• Hybrid cloud evolves to deliver enterprise innovation — Wednesday, May 21, 8-9:30 a.m. EDT (YouTube)

Supporting Quotes

Gunnar Hellekson, vice president and general manager, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat
“Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 is engineered to empower enterprise IT and developers to not just manage the present, but to architect the future. With intelligent features using gen AI, unified hybrid cloud management through image mode and a proactive approach to security with post-quantum cryptography, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 provides the robust and innovative foundation needed to thrive in the era of hybrid cloud and AI.”

Stefan Basenach, senior vice president, Process Automation Technology, ABB
"In collaboration with Red Hat, ABB is committed to extending operational consistency for industrial use cases across edge and hybrid cloud environments, transforming process automation and industrial controls for the future. Using image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, ABB is able to simplify the operating system build process to streamline our development lifecycle and implement a standardized installation method. This results in faster product innovations and a more appliance-like workflow for deployments, so customers can spend less time in setup and focus more on putting ABB's technologies to use to generate business outcomes."

Ryan Caskey, research manager, IDC
“Due to evolving operational requirements, organizations can accumulate diverse Linux distributions, and the consistent maintenance of these heterogeneous environments can become increasingly challenging. Large-scale and intricate infrastructures, as well as teams that are routinely understaffed, underskilled and underfunded, present problems in need of solutions. Red Hat Enterprise Linux aims to establish a robust, foundational layer for both current and future IT strategic initiatives.”

Anish Bhatt, software architect, Salesforce
“In today’s increasingly complex technology landscape, managing infrastructure at scale can be a challenge. Image mode allows consolidation of our pipelines and build processes, which are increasingly geared towards containerization. It has also brought stability to our environments, reducing configuration drift and enabling a more consistent deployment experience. We can also upgrade between major and minor releases of Red Hat Enterprise Linux with less operational risk due to the ability to quickly roll back changes. Image mode is a meaningful step towards simplifying cloud-native application development and IT operations in a single pipeline.”

¹IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Digital Infrastructure 2025 Predictions, Document #US51665124, Oct 2024