Debian 11.3 is available, and although it’s only a small step ahead, it’s still a huge leap forward from the OS you’re using. See what Jack Wallen thinks about this latest version of the Bulls.

Debian is the “mother of all Ubuntu-based distributions” and recently received a third point release in the Bullsee series. This release comes three months after the last point release, which may surprise users who have become accustomed to the long time between releases.

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This latest release contains lots of bug fixes and security patches… and nothing more. You won’t find new features, but the .3 release fixes a number of security issues that Debian users should upgrade immediately.

Security patches include modifications to its preferences:

• Log3j-related issues CVE-2021-4104, CVE-2022-23302, CVE-2022-23305, CVE-2022-23307, and CVE-2021-44832 (this was accomplished by removing JBPCA and support for JBSpper, JBPPC, Apache Chainsaw Module)
• Apache2 Random Memory Read Fix (CVE-2022-22719), Fix for HTTP Request Smuggling Issue (CVE-2022-22720), and a fix for out-of-bounds writing issues (CVE-2022-22721 and CVE-2022-23943)
• atftp data leak problem solution (CVE-2021-46671)
• Other fixes for ClamAV, FLAC, Glibc, Golang, XTerm and many more.

To read the full list of security fixes, be sure to comb through the release notes.

It should also be noted that the kernel shipped with 11.3 is version 5.10.0-13, which has been patched against Dirty Pipe vulnerabilities.

As with every Debian release, the first thing you’ll notice is that most of the software seems outdated. For example, in Pop! _OS, I run version 7.3 of LibreOffice, but in Debian 11.3, it runs with version 7.0.4-2. Anyone who has used Debian with any frequency, you know that it is equal for the course, because Debian is about stability and not bleeding edge software. Because of this, you will see a lot of software packages leaning towards LTS releases. For those who like their desktop operating system to be rock-solid, this is a good thing… and Debian 11.3 claims to be the most (if not the most) The Mostly) stable OS on the planet).

Modern Ubuntu is a unique adoption of security

Those who have used almost any Ubuntu derivative know how security works on that system. When you create a user after installation, that user is automatically added to the sudo group. Not so with Debian. Although Debian includes pseudo, your end-user will not be added to the group. What does that mean? Although you can install software from GUI Software Manager (such as KDE’s Discover), if you are trying to run an application that requires advanced features, you must do so first. su Add that standard user to the root user or to the pseudo group with the following steps:

1. Open a terminal.
2. Issue orders su - And, when prompted, type the root password.
3. Add your user to a pseudo group usermod -aG sudo $USER.
4. Log out and log in again for the changes to take effect

At this point, your standard user belongs to the sudo group and can issue commands without changing the root user.

My adoption in Debian 11.3

I have held Debian in the highest esteem for years. This is not only because it is based on the Linux distribution for which I have used it, but also because of its unparalleled stability, predictability and security. Debian Hall, hands down, the hardest tech in Linux you will ever use. And 11.3 does not disappoint.

One of the nice things about Debian is that developers rarely (if ever) throw a wrench at works or surprise users. When you use Debian, you know what you’re getting from release to release.

At this point, I installed KDE as my preferred desktop in Debian 11.3, and it seems to be as familiar as any repetition of the desktop I used. And how far KDE has come in the last few years does not mean that the desktop (by any means) as a whole is not compromised by the stability of the OS as a whole. And with a few quick changes, the KDE desktop is just the way I like it (with a genome-like desktop menu).Figure A)

Figure A

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Debian is so good that it might cost you the smallest bit of extra effort to get where you want to go. In fact, Debian 11.3 is very good, there is no reason why you should not use it as your daily desktop operating system. You just don’t get the more stable OS on the planet. And as far as performance is concerned, Debian 11.3 will stand out with almost any OS. Even running this release as a virtual machine (with only 3GB of RAM and a single CPU), it performs well alongside the host OS (Pop! _OS), which has considerable resources.

If you are looking for your next Linux distribution (or an OS to help you wean from Windows or macOS) then you should consider Debian 11.3. The security and stability you will experience will make you wonder why you waited so long to jump on the Linux bandwagon.

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