Only five days have passed since the release of Linux kernel 4.8.11, which most GNU/Linux distributions that are using the latest and most advanced Linux 4.8 branch did not even receive, including Solus and openSUSE Tumbleweed, and Linux kernel 4.8.12 is already here, which means that OS maintainers need to re-compile the new version, tweak it for their supported architectures, and push it to the repos. However, according to the appended shortlog and the diff since Linux kernel 4.8.11, it looks like Linux kernel 4.8.12 changes a total of 52 files, with 390 insertions and 204 deletions, which means that it’s not a major update. There are mostly architecture improvements for PA-RISC, PowerPC (PPC), Tile, and x86, updated drivers, and a few networking changes.