$ the-wire · showcase
VM_SPECIAL retires, tracing gains a "within" filter
By RepoJournal · Filed · About Linux · Composed from the cited sources · methodology
The 7.4 merge window keeps landing: the MM tree replaces VM_SPECIAL with explicit VMA flag semantics, tracing gets a filter that matches on the calling function, and the non-MM tree closes out two OCFS2 use-after-free races.
Merge tag 'mm-stable-2026-10-25-19-27' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/akpm/mm torvalds/linux
Lorenzo Stoakes' series removes VM_SPECIAL entirely, replacing it with helpers that describe mapping ownership and behavior, and enforces the mmap flag rules across the drivers that relied on the old catch-all test. Out-of-tree drivers that test VM_SPECIAL or assume the loose flag rules will need converting before they build against 7.4.
Merge tag 'trace-v7.4' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/trace/linux-trace torvalds/linux
Steven Rostedt's tree adds "within" to event filter logic: `echo 'within == "vfs_read"' > events/sched/sched_switch/filter` triggers only sched_switch events that occur inside vfs_read, by taking a stacktrace at the event and checking whether any entry sits in the named function. It is a way to scope a tracepoint to a call path without building a kprobe.
Merge tag 'mm-nonmm-stable-2026-10-25-14-57' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/akpm/mm torvalds/linux
Complementing its suballocator work, this pull stops OCFS2 recovery before freeing failed-mount state and replay slots, closing use-after-free and double-free races on the mount error path, and defers suballocator reclaim to break a transaction-lock deadlock with dismount. Joseph Qi also adds validation of suballoc slot and bit in metadata blocks.
Merge tag 'm68knommu-for-v7.4' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/gerg/m68knommu torvalds/linux
Greg Ungerer's m68knommu branch brings platform code for the ColdFire 54418 RNG block, PWM address definitions for the same part, a fix for seccomp filter processing on syscall entry, and a compile fix for the Cleopatra board target.
v4.5.0-rc2 basecamp/omarchy
Omarchy 4.5.0-rc2 is the first feature release since Quattro: 50 languages, per-monitor workspaces, floating workspaces with a dock, rebuilt notifications. The release notes are blunt about it: "This is a release candidate, not a final release," so test machines and snapshots only.
Stop re-sampling the wallpaper for the transparent bar on unrelated state writes (#8307) basecamp/omarchy
Elsewhere in the desktop stack, the transparent bar no longer re-samples the wallpaper on unrelated state writes: it had been watching a directory path QFileSystemWatcher can't hold, so every atomic tmp-and-rename in ~/.local/state/omarchy re-triggered the sample.
