Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10: Enterprise Features, Security Hardening, and 2026 Release Guide

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Whats New in RHEL 10
• Enhanced Security Features
• Performance Optimizations
• Container and Kubernetes Support
• AI and Machine Learning Enhancements
• Enterprise Considerations
• Migration Path from RHEL 9
• Support Lifecycle
• Conclusion

Introduction

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 (RHEL 10), the latest major version of Red Hats flagship enterprise operating system, brings significant improvements to security, performance, and containerization capabilities. Released in early 2026, RHEL 10 represents the culmination of years of engineering effort to provide enterprises with a modern, secure, and highly capable operating system for mission-critical workloads.

This comprehensive guide explores RHEL 10s major features, security enhancements, performance improvements, and what they mean for enterprise deployments. Whether youre planning a new infrastructure deployment or considering upgrading from RHEL 9, this guide provides the information you need to make informed decisions.

Whats New in RHEL 10

Kernel Updates

RHEL 10 ships with the Linux 6.20 kernel, providing support for the latest hardware, improved performance across all workloads, and enhanced security features. The newer kernel includes improved container support, better I/O scheduling, and enhanced memory management.

Wayland as Default Display Server

Following the industry trend, RHEL 10 makes Wayland the default display server for systems requiring graphical interfaces. X11 is available as an optional installation, ensuring backward compatibility for legacy applications.

Rust Integration

RHEL 10 includes Rust-based core utilities, providing memory safety improvements across the system. Tools like ls and cp benefit from Rusts performance and safety characteristics.

Enhanced Virtualization

Improved KVM support, better performance for virtual machines, and enhanced live migration capabilities make RHEL 10 an excellent choice for virtualized infrastructure.

Enhanced Security Features

SELinux Improvements

RHEL 10 includes updated SELinux policies that are more granular and easier to manage without sacrificing security. New tools provide better visibility into security policy violations and make policy development more accessible.

Cryptographic Updates

RHEL 10 removes support for cryptographic algorithms that are no longer considered secure, while adding support for post-quantum cryptography algorithms in preparation for quantum computing threats. TLS 1.2 is now the minimum version for secure connections.

Automated Security Scanning

New tooling automatically scans systems for compliance with security baselines and provides remediation guidance. This integration with Red Hat Insights provides continuous security monitoring.

Privilege Elevation Hardening

RHEL 10 includes sudo-rs (the Rust implementation of sudo) as an option, providing safer privilege escalation with memory safety guarantees.

Performance Optimizations

I/O Improvements

The latest kernel and filesystem optimizations provide dramatically improved I/O performance, particularly beneficial for databases, storage systems, and high-throughput applications.

Memory Optimization

Improved memory management algorithms reduce memory pressure on systems and provide better performance for memory-intensive workloads. Transparent Huge Pages enhancements reduce TLB misses.

CPU Efficiency

Better CPU scheduling algorithms and power management features provide improved performance per watt, reducing energy consumption in data centers.

Container and Kubernetes Support

Podman Enhancements

RHEL 10 includes the latest Podman with improved performance, better networking, and enhanced security isolation for containers.

OpenShift Integration

Seamless integration with Red Hat OpenShift provides a consistent container platform experience from development through production.

Systemd Updates

Enhanced systemd includes better cgroup2 support, improved service management, and better integration with container platforms.

AI and Machine Learning Enhancements

NVIDIA GPU Support

Improved NVIDIA GPU support makes RHEL 10 an excellent choice for AI/ML workloads. Enhanced drivers, CUDA toolkit integration, and better performance profiling are included out of the box.

AI Model Serving

Pre-packaged tools for deploying AI models make it easier to operationalize machine learning workloads on RHEL 10 infrastructure.

Enterprise Considerations

Support Options

Red Hat offers multiple support levels including Standard Support (10 years), Extended Support (13 years), and Addendum Support (15 years). Choose based on your infrastructure lifecycle and support needs.

Compliance

RHEL 10 comes pre-configured to meet major compliance standards including FedRAMP, PCI-DSS, and HIPAA. Automated compliance checking and remediation reduce compliance burden.

Cost Management

Subscription Manager provides transparent licensing and cost management. Reserved Instances and other cost optimization features are available through Red Hat Hybrid Cloud.

Migration Path from RHEL 9

In-Place Upgrades

RHEL 10 supports in-place upgrades from RHEL 9, minimizing downtime for critical systems. Automatic rollback is available if issues occur during the upgrade process.

Testing Requirements

Before upgrading production systems, thoroughly test your applications and workflows in a staging environment. Pay particular attention to:

• Legacy application compatibility
• Specialized hardware driver support
• Cluster and failover configurations
• Custom kernel modules

Phased Rollout

Consider a phased approach: upgrade development systems first, then staging, then production. This reduces risk and allows time to identify and address compatibility issues.

Support Lifecycle

RHEL 10 will receive security and bug fix updates for a minimum of 10 years from release. Critical security issues receive immediate patches. The extended lifecycle options provide support through 2036, ideal for long-term infrastructure deployments.

Conclusion

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 represents a significant step forward in enterprise operating system capabilities. With enhanced security, improved performance, better containerization support, and modern architecture aligned with current industry standards, RHEL 10 is an excellent choice for new enterprise deployments and provides a clear upgrade path from RHEL 9.

Organizations should begin planning RHEL 10 deployments immediately, with particular attention to testing and validating existing applications. The investment in upgrading will pay dividends through improved security, better performance, and access to modern enterprise features that RHEL 10 provides.