# Amazon Linux default SSM parameter will now track the latest kernel

DevFeed: [Amazon Linux default SSM parameter will now track the latest kernel](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/amazon-linux-default-ssm-parameter-will-now-track-the-latest-kernel-4654.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/compute/amazon-linux-default-ssm-parameter-will-now-track-the-latest-kernel/>)

Author: Gokul Govindaraju

Published: 2026-08-20T19:49:05Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [AWS Compute Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/aws-compute-blog.md>)

Topics: [Linux](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/linux.md>), [Amazon EC2](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/amazon-ec2.md>), [Amazon Web Services](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/aws.md>), [releases](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/releases.md>), [Latency](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/latency.md>)

Tags: [advanced-300](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/advanced-300.md>), [amazon](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/amazon.md>), [amazon-ec2](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/amazon-ec2.md>), [announcements](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/announcements.md>), [aws](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/aws.md>), [kernel](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kernel.md>), [latency](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/latency.md>), [launch](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/launch.md>), [linux](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/linux.md>), [os](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/os.md>), [releases](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/releases.md>), [systems](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/systems.md>), [update](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/update.md>), [updates](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/updates.md>)

## AI overview

Amazon Linux's default AWS Systems Manager parameter will now track the latest validated kernel version. For Amazon Linux 2023, it moved from kernel 6.1 to 6.18 on August 17, 2026, after a validation period. New instances launched through the parameter will use the updated kernel, while running instances and version-specific parameter users are unaffected.

## Source excerpt

The Amazon Linux kernel-default SSM parameter now updates to point to the latest kernel version as new releases become available. This post explains what this means for your workloads and how to manage the transition.