Daily update · Aug 24, 2026
Linux 7.3 merge window: new SoC support, RCU and slab updates
Today's pull requests bring new hardware enablement across pin control, mailbox, PHY, and DMA engine subsystems, plus core memory-management and DMA improvements.
In brief
Today's pull requests for Linux 7.3 bring a wave of new hardware enablement: pin control, mailbox, PHY, and DMA engine subsystems add support for numerous SoCs and devices. Core memory-management and DMA mapping code gain new flexibility with a lockless kfree_rcu() variant and swiotlb configuration options. Several driver subsystems also include fixes for laptop audio and platform reliability.
New hardware support
Pin control: new SoC and PMIC support
The pinctrl pull request adds support for Qualcomm Maili TLMM, PMG1110 PMIC, and Eliza LPASS LPI TLMM SoCs, plus Samsung Exynos 8855, MediaTek MT6858, Rockchip RK3308B/RV1106, Airoha EN7523/AN7563, and Apple T6030/T6031.
Why it matters: Expands the range of platforms that can use the mainline pin control subsystem.
Mailbox: new drivers for Axiado and Exynos850
Adds a mailbox controller driver for the Axiado AX3005 and support for Exynos850, along with fixes for Qcom and PCC.
Why it matters: Enables mailbox communication on additional hardware.
PHY: new USB, PCIe, and DSI PHY drivers
Adds PHY drivers for MediaTek MT8196 DSI, Renesas RZ/G3L USB2, Qualcomm SM8475 QMP USB/PCIe, IPQ9650 PCIe, and a Spacemit USB3/PCIe combo PHY.
Why it matters: Provides the physical-layer support needed for USB, PCIe, and display interfaces on new hardware.
DMA engine: new API and MediaTek UART DMA
Introduces a combined configuration/preparation API and adds UART DMA support for the MediaTek MT8189 SoC.
Why it matters: Simplifies DMA client code and enables DMA on another SoC.
Core improvements
Slab: new kfree_rcu_nolock() for NMI/BPF contexts
Adds kfree_rcu_nolock(), a variant of kfree_rcu() that can be called from contexts where spinning on a lock is unsafe, such as BPF programs or NMI handlers. Also makes slab object extension sizing runtime-configurable.
Why it matters: Provides a safer way to defer frees in constrained contexts and reduces memory waste when profiling is off.
DMA mapping: swiotlb configuration and shared DMA state tracking
Adds a kernel configuration option for the default swiotlb pool size and tracks shared DMA state across direct, pool, and swiotlb paths, which is important for confidential computing.
Why it matters: Gives administrators more control over swiotlb and improves correctness for confidential-computing workloads.
RCU: expedited grace periods now expedite normal callbacks
The RCU pull request makes expedited grace periods also expedite normal RCU callbacks, along with various fixes and documentation updates.
Why it matters: This makes normal callbacks complete faster when expedited grace periods are used.
SoundWire: Asus laptop quirks and Qualcomm improvements
Adds DMI quirks to disable ghost Realtek devices on several Asus laptops and improves Qualcomm SoundWire bus support with mclk_freq and more data ports.
Why it matters: Fixes audio device detection on affected laptops and extends SoundWire capabilities on Qualcomm platforms.
x86 platform drivers: AMD Halo RGB LED and HSMP v7
Adds an RGB LED driver for AMD Halo, support for AMD HSMP protocol v7, and numerous rollback/remove path fixes across x86 laptop drivers.
Why it matters: Improves hardware support and reliability for recent AMD-based laptops.
Source commits632 entries +
Merge tag 'rcu.2026.08.18a' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/rcu/linux
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 39 files
Merge tag 'scftorture.2026.08.18a' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/rcu/linux
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 1 files
Merge tag 'auxdisplay-v7.3-1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/andy/linux-auxdisplay
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 3 files
Merge tag 'pinctrl-v7.3-1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/linusw/linux-pinctrl
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 119 files
Merge tag 'i2c-7.3-part2' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/andi.shyti/linux
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 30 files
Merge tag 'mailbox-v7.3' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/jassibrar/mailbox
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 33 files
Merge tag 'platform-drivers-x86-v7.3-1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/pdx86/platform-drivers-x86
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 100 files
Merge tag 'configfs-for-v7.3-rc1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/a.hindborg/linux
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 1 files
Merge tag 'slab-for-7.3' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/vbabka/slab
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 17 files
Merge tags 'dma-mapping-7.3-2026-08-24' and 'dma-mapping-7.3-2026-08-24-2' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/mszyprowski/linux
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 25 files
Merge tag 'soundwire-7.3-rc1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/vkoul/soundwire
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 12 files
Merge tag 'phy-for-7.3' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/phy/linux-phy
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 66 files
Merge tag 'dmaengine-7.3-rc1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/vkoul/dmaengine
Linus Torvalds · Aug 24, 2026 · 35 files