FreedomBox 24.19 released

FreedomBox 24.19 has been released and uploaded to Debian unstable. Typically, the freedombox package will migrate to testing in 2 days, and then can be uploaded to stable-backports.

Highlights of this release:

  • mediawiki: Increase PHP maximum execution time to 100 seconds
  • names: Use systemd-resolved for DNS resolution

Other changes:

  • bind: Don’t start a stopped daemon during changes/upgrades
  • bind: Fix port number clash with ‘shared’ network connections
  • bind: Set default forwarder as systemd-resolved
  • container: Re-run failed provisioning even if container is running
  • letsencrypt: Handle both standard and custom repairs
  • locale: Update translations for Albanian, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, German, Spanish, Telugu, Turkish, Ukrainian
  • makefile: Workaround problems with systemd-resolved package
  • names, network: Re-feed DNS known to network-manager to resolved
  • names: Add option for setting global DNS-over-TLS preference
  • names: Add option for setting global DNSSEC preference
  • names: Implement a diagnostic check for checking name resolution
  • names: Restart instead of reload for systemd-resolved changes
  • names: Show systemd-resolved status in the names page
  • networks: Add more options for IPv6 configuration method
  • networks: Add support for DNS-over-TLS for individual connections
  • networks: Declare a need for DHCP/DNS ports to be open in firewall
  • networks: Fix focusing on network interface field on error
  • networks: Groups fields in create/edit connection form
  • networks: Set ‘auto’ as default IPv6 method in new connection form
  • networks: Show current global value of DNS-over-TLS and link to it
  • privacy: Implement a way to disable fallback DNS servers
  • privacy: Show notification again so that users see the new setting
  • storage: Handle grub-pc package not available
  • upgrades: Add repair step for held packages

The following people contributed to the git repository for this release:

  • 109247019824
  • Besnik Bleta
  • Burak Yavuz
  • Ettore Atalan
  • gallegonovato
  • Hemanth Kumar Veeranki
  • Ihor Hordiichuk
  • ikmaak
  • James Valleroy
  • Joseph Nuthalapati
  • Sunil Mohan Adapa
  • 大王叫我来巡山

Release 24.19 of FreedomBox brings major changes to the how domain names are resolved. It switches from using resolvconf for managing DNS server configuration to using systemd-resolved. This improves privacy and security through DNS-over-TLS and DNSSEC. However, there is also a privacy setting you might want to turn off.

Please see the manual page for Names app for details:

https://wiki.debian.org/FreedomBox/Manual/NameServices

We don’t expect any problems as we have tested the switch with many scenarios including fresh/old installations, network manager, ‘shared’ networks, Wireguard, OpenVPN, bind name server, etc. If something does not work as expected, please report it and thank you for your patience during this transition.

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