The CoreBoot 25.06 project, which develops a free alternative to proprietary firmware and BIOS, has been released. The project code is distributed under the GPLv2 license. The new version includes 879 changes prepared with the participation of 128 developers.
Major changes:
- Support for motherboards has been implemented:
- ASUS H61M-A/USB3;
- CWWK CW-ADL-4L-V1.0 and CW-ADLNTB-1C2L-V3.0;
- Intel Google Chrome EC;
- MiTAC Computing R520G6SB and SC513G6;
- NovaCustom V540TNx (14″) and V560TNx (16″);
- Siemens MC RPL1;
- Star Labs Byte Mk III (N355);
- System76 darp11 and lemp13;
- 21 boards used in various devices running Chrome OS or серверах Google.
- Added support for the fifth generation of Intel Xeon Scalable processors - "Emerald Rapids", allowing the use of CoreBoot on the latest Intel platforms for servers and workstations. Among other things, new power management features introduced in "Emerald Rapids" have been implemented. Work continues on supporting Intel's next-generation "Panther Lake."
- Added support for SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 and improved support for MediaTek MT8189 and MT8196 platforms.
- The infrastructure for displaying the splash screen during loading has been completely redesigned. The new implementation improves the rendering of information, adds support for various types of logos, adds the ability to place additional information at the bottom of the screen, provides tools for managing the horizontal alignment of the logo, improves tracking of the end of rendering, and integrates the ability to separately handle low battery states.
- The cbfstool utility used to manage the CBFS (CoreBoot File System) has been updated to include a multi-ELF mode, allowing firmware developers to embed multiple ELF binaries into a single CBFS entry. This can be used in scenarios that require multiple components to be loaded simultaneously or where TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) components are used.
- For Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, support for the PRR (Power Reduction Request) DSM functions has been implemented, allowing for a significant expansion of the power management capabilities in the subsystems for wireless devices. For example, the implemented ACPI methods allow operating systems to request the inclusion of aggressive power saving modes during idle time or when wireless functions are not used. The implementation is compatible with Microsoft's Standby mode specifications, which allows synchronizing the power consumption of wireless devices with the sleep mode states in the operating system.
- The vboot subsystem used for verified boot now creates backup copies of CMOS data at late boot stages. The change provides additional protection against data corruption in case of emergency situations during firmware startup and allows preserving the integrity of important configuration parameters in case of emergency power outage during complex initialization procedures.
- Added VBOOT_EC_SYNC_ESOL option to Kconfig to control the synchronization behavior of embedded controllers.
- The build system is now compatible with GCC 15. Crossgcc now supports specifications for the RISC-V instruction set architecture. Submodule management has been significantly improved, and tracking of third-party component updates has been simplified.
- The documentation has been updated to clarify the project's policy on using AI tools when writing code. It has been updated to include clauses stating that developers must own the code and are responsible for ensuring that the code they contribute meets CoreBoot's quality standards and licenses. If third-party rights are violated, the code will be removed or replaced.
Additionally, it is worth noting the release of the free boot firmware Libreboot 25.06, which received the status of a stable release, focused on polishing the functionality added in experimental releases (stable releases mainly contain fixes and are published about once a year, the last stable release was in December). The project develops a ready-made assembly of the Coreboot project, providing a replacement for proprietary UEFI and BIOS firmware responsible for initializing the CPU, memory, peripherals and other hardware components, with minimal binary inserts.
Libreboot aims to create a system environment that allows you to do without proprietary software as much as possible, not only at the level of the operating system, but also the firmware that provides booting. Libreboot complements Coreboot with tools to make it easier for end users to use, creating a ready-made distribution that can be used by any user without special skills.
Compared to the previous stable release, support for the Acer Q45T-AM motherboard, as well as the Dell Precision T1700 SFF and MT mini-PC has been added. The build system has been improved. The ability to build using GCC 15 has been added. CoreBoot (synchronized with the repository as of April 20. GRUB2, U-Boot, SeaBIOS, flashprog, uefitool and NASM components have been synchronized with the current code bases.
Hardware supported in Libreboot:
- Server motherboards:
- ASUS KFSN4-DRE
- ASUS KGPE-D16
- Desktop systems:
- Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L;
- Acer G43T-AM3, Q45T-AM;
- Intel D510MO/D410PT;
- Apple iMac 5,2;
- HP Elite 8200 SFF/MT;
- HP Elite 8300 USDT;
- ASUS KCMA-D8;
- Dell Precision T1650, T1700 SFF/MT;
- Intel D945GCLF
- Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro, 7010, 7020, 9010 and 9020 series SFF, XE2 SFF, MT and XE2 MT, 780 USFF/MT;
- Laptops:
- ThinkPad X60/X60S/X60 Tablet;
- ThinkPad T60;
- Lenovo ThinkPad X200 / X200S / X200 / X220 / X220 eDP / X230 Tablet;
- Lenovo ThinkPad X301;
- Lenovo ThinkPad R400;
- Lenovo ThinkPad T400 / T400S / T420 / T420S / T430 / T440 / T480 / T480S.
- Lenovo ThinkPad T500/T530;
- Lenovo ThinkPad W530/W541;
- Lenovo ThinkPad R500;
- HP EliteBook 2560p / 2570p / 2170p / 8470p / Folio 9470m;
- HP EliteBook 820 G2;
- HP Compaq Elite 8300 CMT;
- HP EliteBook 8460p;
- HP EliteBook 8560w;
- Dell Latitute E6400/E6430;
- Dell Latitude E5420 / E5520 / E5530 / E6520 / E6530 / E6420 / E6220 / E6320 / E6330 / E6230 / E4300;
- Apple MacBook1 and MacBook2;
- ASUS Chromebook Flip C101 (ARM);
- Samsung Chromebook Plus (ARM).
- Gaming consoles:
- sony playstation 1
In addition to Libreboot, the Canoeboot 25.06 project release has been formed, which is positioned as a completely free Libreboot build that meets the FOSS Foundation's requirements for free distributions. The Canoeboot release is based on Libreboot 25.06, from which components and changes that do not meet the FOSS Foundation's criteria have been removed.
The need to create a separate assembly of Libreboot is explained by the fact that the requirements for free distribution kits formed by the Free Software Foundation do not allow the supply of binary firmware and any binary driver components. At the same time, starting in 2022, the Libreboot project switched to more pragmatic rules for the use of binary components, which made it possible to significantly expand the range of supported hardware. The new goal of the Libreboot project is to support all hardware supported in coreboot, with the exception of binary components that affect security and reliability (for example, Libreboot uses me_cleaner to disable Intel ME). With this approach, Libreboot lost its status as a completely free distribution from the position of the Free Software Foundation.
The new version of Canoeboot supports the Acer Q45T-AM motherboard, Dell Precision T1650, Dell OptiPlex 7010 SFF, 9020 SFF, 9020 MT, HP Elite 8200 SFF, 8300 CMT, 8300 USDT desktop systems, Dell Latitude E5420, E5520, E5530, E6220, E6230, E6320, E6330, E6420, E6430, E6520, E6530, Lenovo ThinkPad T420, T420s, T430, T440p, T520, T530, W530, W541, X220, X230 and X230T laptops.
Devices supported in Canoeboot:
- Game consoles:
- Sony PlayStation (PS1/PSX)
- Server motherboards:
- ASUS KFSN4-DRE motherboard
- ASUS KGPE-D16 motherboard
- Desktop systems:
- Acer G43T-AM3
- Apple iMac 5,2
- ASUS KCMA-D8
- Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L
- Intel D510MO and D410PT motherboards
- Intel D945GCLF
- Dell Precision T1650
- Dell OptiPlex 780, 7010 SFF, 9020 SFF and 9020 MT
- HP Elite 8200 SFF, 8300 CMT and 8300 USDT
- Laptops (x86):
- Apple MacBook1,1 and MacBook2,1
- Dell Latitude E4300, E6400, E6400 XFR, E6400 ATG, E5420, E5520, E5530, E6220, E6230, E6320, E6330, E6420, E6430, E6520 and E6530
- Lenovo ThinkPad R500, T400, T400S, T500, W500, X200, X200S, X200 Tablet, T60, X60, X60S, X60 Tablet (Intel GPU), T420, T420s, T430, T440p, T520, T530, W530, W541, X220, X230 and X230T
- Laptops (ARM):
- ASUS Chromebook Flip C101
- Samsung Chromebook Plus (v1)
- Emulators:
- QEMU x86 and arm64
Source: opennet.ru
