The release of Fedora 41 proposes the deletion of Network-SCRIPTS, which provides support for classic scripts for network settings based on the use of IFUP and IFDown commands. These outdated scripts have been in use since 2018. The reason for their removal is the planned elimination of ISC DHCP, whose support was discontinued at the end of 2022. Network-scripts are closely tied to ISC DHCP, and transferring them to another DHCP client is not feasible due to the termination of package development. Instead of IFUP and IFDown commands, users are recommended to use the NMCLI utility from NetworkManager or the NetworkCTL tool. The removal of Network-Scripts will not affect the operation of old IFCFG network configurations, as the NetworkManager -Ipts-ifcfg-RH package provides alternative components for their support.
Furthermore, changes are intended for Fedora 41 to the Polkit rules that regulate access to the background RPM-Sostree process in the Fedora distribution assemblies that utilize atomic updates (Fedora Atomic Desktops). These changes will allow system updates to be performed without the need to enter an administrator password. However, the number of privileged operations requiring password input when performed by the administrator will be expanded. This change is seen as an additional security measure to verify the administrator for risky operations such as altering kernel parameters, installing packages from local filesystems, and modifying system images. Tasks like adding/removing packages from standard repositories, system updates, and reverting changes will still be allowed for the administrator without needing to enter a password.
These proposals are currently undergoing discussions and have not yet been reviewed by the FESCO Committee (Fedora Engineering Steering Committee), which oversees the technical aspects of Fedora’s development.