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Linux 6.12 and the 25.12 toolchain: why kernel modules must match

Linux 6.6 → 6.12, GCC 13.3 → 14.3. Kernel modules must match.

In one sentence

Section titled “In one sentence”

25.12 moves every target from Linux 6.6 to 6.12 and updates the toolchain, so kernel modules built for 24.10 will not load on 25.12.

Versions side by side

Section titled “Versions side by side”
Component 24.10.0 25.12.0
Linux kernel 6.6.73 6.12.71
GCC 13.3.0 14.3.0
binutils 2.42 2.44
musl 1.2.5 1.2.5
glibc 2.38 2.41

25.12.6 moves the kernel to 6.12.112. In 25.12.0 the wireless stack (cfg80211/mac80211) comes from kernel 6.18.7, alongside dnsmasq 2.91, dropbear 2025.89 and busybox 1.37.0.

Why it matters at home

Section titled “Why it matters at home”
  • kmod-* packages are built for one exact kernel. The feed path contains the kernel hash, as in targets/<target>/kmods/<kernel-hash>/, and it has to match the running kernel.
  • A kmod from another release, another build or a mirror with a different hash will fail to install or to load. That is a common reason a package “will not install”.
  • Third-party builds often ship their own kernel. Official kmods may not fit them at all.

See it on your router

Section titled “See it on your router”
Terminal window
uname -r
grep -E 'RELEASE|TARGET' /etc/openwrt_release
Section titled “Related guides”

Sources

Router.Homes

Independent OpenWrt notes. Every page states the firmware, device, package manager and way back.

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