Systemd, the system manager, has recently released version 256, as reported. This release brings several key changes to the software. Some of the noteworthy updates include the introduction of the RUN0 utility, which serves as a replacement for SUDO, the Importctl utility for working with disk images, versioning access to resources, the concept of capsules for launching additional service managers, Systemd-Journal logs, support for the VARLINK protocol in Systemd-Networkd, Systemd-machined, bootctl, Systemd-Creds, and Systemd-Hostnamed. Additionally, there is a new unit generator called “Systemd-SSH-GENERATOR” and the “SystemD-SSH-PROXY” utility.
Among the changes in this new release is the inclusion of the utility run0, which allows users to perform processes under the identifiers of other users in a safer manner compared to the SUDO program. The RUN0 utility is implemented as a superstructure on the command systemd-run. Instead of using SUID, the system manager responds with a request to launch the process, creating a new pseudo-subterminal (PTY) and sending data between it and the current terminal (TTY). The process runs in an isolated context generated by the PID1 process, rather than inheriting the user’s environment properties. Polkit is used to authorize and determine user capabilities. Added indicator features help identify when increased privileges are in use.
Another addition to this release is the command-line utility systemd-vpick, which implements the vpick protocol for managing versions like disk images. The systemd-vpick file allows users to load resources from directories such as “*.v/.”