Valve Updates Proton to Greatly Improve Windows Gaming on Linux

With the release of Proton 8.0-4, a number of usability improvements have been added (along with the usual bug fixes and new features). This new release targets a vast collection of games designed for Windows and ensures they work out of the box on both Steam for Linux and on the Steamdeck.

This new update makes it possible to run games such as EverQuest 2, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2, The Longest Journey, Arthurian Legends, Oddworld: Strangers's Wrath HD, and Songs for a Hero (Definitive Edition) out of the box. These games previously required users to run Proton Experimental but that is no longer true.

The new updates fix the issue where Battle.net constantly attempted to update itself and include fixes for the EA Desktop software, Baldur's Gate 3, and some Unreal Engine 4 games. Also, NVIDIA NVAPI is now enabled, which fixes some Ubisoft Connect issues.

The Proton 8.0-4 update also installs a few other updates (such as Wine Mono 8.0.1) to further improve the experience.

You can read the entire list of fixes here: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/releases/tag/proton-8.0-4, where you can also download the source code for Proton 8.0-4.

New Linux Vulnerability Enables PrivilegeEscalation

CVE-2023-4911 has been discovered in the GNU C library ld.so dynamic loader that can be exploited to give bad actors root privileges on major Linux distributions.

This vulnerability resides in the glibc dynamic loader and can be exploited in the processing of the GLIBC_TUNABLES environment variable. This flaw was discovered and originally reported by Qualys (https://blog.qualys.com/vulnerabilities-threat-research/2023/10/03/cve-2023-4911-looney-tunables-local-privilege-escalation-in-the-glibcs-ld-so).

The dynamic loader defines system calls and other functionalities such as open, malloc, printf, and exit. This crucial component of glibc examines a program (when it is initiated) and determines the shared libraries it requires. The dynamic loader then searches for the libraries, loads them into memory, and links them to the program at runtime.

The GLIBC_TUNABLES environment variable was added to glibc to give users the capability of modifying the library's runtime behavior. Qualys discovered the presence of a buffer overflow flaw that poses a serious threat to all major Linux distributions.

If affected, a threat actor could gain root privileges and wreak havoc on a system. Distributions such as Debian 12 and 13, Ubuntu 22.04 and 23.04, and Fedora 37 and 38 are all affected.

This vulnerability should be taken seriously and admins are encouraged to patch immediately.

elementary OS 7.1 Available for Download

The development team behind elementary OS understands that privacy is a top concern for most consumers. Because of that, they've placed a high importance on privacy and consent.

One way of addressing this is by providing a new Background & Autostart portal (within the Settings app) that will alert users when apps are running in the background and ensures those apps ask for permission before auto-starting. If you don't want an app to be able to auto-start, you can easily disable it with the click of a slider.

As well, the developers have made it possible for users to control which apps have access to their location and even access data without permission. They've also migrated Location Services from the Agents system to the new Portal.

In elementary OS 7.1, the AppCenter will now inform users if an application can read a location, send notifications, or automatically start. Users are also notified if an application will run in the background, access system or home folders, read and write system settings, and escape the sandbox to gain heightened permissions.

Other improvements include those for Housekeeping and temp accounts, inclusivity and personalization, gestures and keyboard navigation, login and lock screen, hardware support, a much-improved default web browser (Gnome Web), enhanced Mail app, and more.

You can read about the new release in the official announcement (https://blog.elementary.io/os-7-1-available-now/) and download elementary OS 7.1 from the official site (https://elementary.io/).