LibreCMC explained

LibreCMC
Family:	Linux (Unix-like)
Working State:	Active
Frequently Updated:	yes
Preceded By:	LEDE/LibreWRT
License:	GPLv2^[1] ^[2]
Language:	English
Supported Platforms:	MIPS
Kernel Type:	Monolithic (Linux-libre)
Userland:	GNU

LibreCMC is a Linux-libre distribution for computers with minimal resources, such as the Ben NanoNote, ath9k-based Wi-Fi routers, and other hardware with emphasis on free software. Based on OpenWrt, the project's goal is to aim for compliance with the GNU Free System Distribution Guidelines (GNU FSDG) and ensure that the project continues to meet these requirements set forth by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). LibreCMC does not support ac (Wi-Fi 5) or ax (Wi-Fi 6) due to a lack of free chipsets.^[3]

As of 2020, releases do not utilize codenames anymore. The acronym "CMC" in the libreCMC name stands for "Concurrent Machine Cluster".^[4]

__TOC__

History

On April 23, 2014, libreCMC's first public release is mentioned in a Trisquel Linux forum.^[5] On September 4, 2014, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) added libreCMC to its list of endorsed distributions.^{[6] [7]} Shortly afterwards, on September 12, 2014, the FSF awarded their Respects Your Freedom (RYF) Certification to a new router pre-installed with libreCMC.^[8]

On May 2, 2015, libreCMC merged with the LibreWRT project.^{[9] [10] [11] [12]} LibreWRT, initially developed as a case study, was listed by the website prism-break.org^[13] as one of the alternatives to proprietary firmware,^[14] but today the website lists libreCMC.

On March 10, 2016, the FSF awarded their RYF certification to a new router pre-installed with libreCMC.^[15]

On March 29, 2017, libreCMC began its first release based upon the LEDE (Linux Embedded Development Environment) 17.01 codebase.

On January 3, 2020, libreCMC began its first release based upon the OpenWrt 19.07 codebase.

Release history

• Source^[16]

Version	Codename	Codebase	Release	Linux-Libre Kernel Version	Annotation / Improvements
	Delusional Dan^[17]		2014		First public binary release
	Elegant Eleanor		2015		LibreWRT merged to the project, LTS
	Frivolous Fred	LEDE 17.01	29 March 2017		Release based on LEDE
			7 October 2017		Fixes various security issues (including dnsmasq and openvpn)
			17 October 2017		Fixes various security issues including: dnsmasq, openvpn and KRACK
			1 January 2018	4.4.108	OpenVPN 2.4.4 Openssl-1.0.2n (to fix CVE-2017-3735, CVE-2017-3736) Busybox CVE-2017-16544 fix curl CVE-2017-8816, CVE-2017-8817 fix Samba CVE-2017-15275 fix
			1 April 2018	4.4.120	openvpn 2.4.5 mbedtls 2.8.0 Tor was moved into base
			6 July 2018	4.4.138	openvpn 2.4.6 mbedtls 2.9.0 Various other fixes Complete removal of references to GitHub repositories
			4 October 2018	4.4.159	wireguard 0.0.20181006 Introduced TL-WR1043N v5 Various other fixes
			4 Jan 2019	4.4.167	uhttpd 2018-11-28 Wireguard 0.0.20181218 openssl 1.0.2q mbedtls 2.14.1 Various other fixes
			1 April 2019		Fixes CVE 2019-8912 Bump OpenVPN to 2.4.7 Added support for the TPE-R1200
			30 June 2019	4.4.183	OpenSSL 1.0.2s wolfssl 1.15-stable mbedtls 1.16.1 Wireguard 0.2019.06.01
			2 October 2019	4.4.195	OpenSSL 1.0.2t Tor 0.4.1.6 Wireguard 0.0.20190913
	N/A	OpenWRT 19.07			ath79 replaces ar71xx targets tiny sub-target replaces the old legacy images First release built on Power9 hardware
	N/A				Fixes Fixes
	N/A			4.14.173	Updated Wireguard to 1.0.20200330 Updated Tor to 0.4.2.7 to fix and init script issues Fixes Other fixes picked from upstream 19.07.x
	N/A
	N/A			4.14.199	Updated Wireguard to 1.0.20200908 Added wolfssl support to luci OpenSSL 1.1.1h Mbedtls 2.16.8 Other fixes picked from upstream 19.07.x
	N/A			4.14.212	Updated Wireguard to 1.0.20201221 OpenSSL 1.1.1i OpenVPN 2.4.10 Fixes CVE-2020-28928, CVE-2020-8037 Other fixes picked from upstream 19.07.x
	N/A			4.14.216	Updated dnsmasq to Addresses critical security issues in dnsmasq to address: CVE-2020-25681, CVE-2020-25682, CVE-2020-25683, CVE-2020-25684, CVE-2020-25685, CVE-2020-25686, and CVE-2020-25687
	N/A			4.14.224
	N/A			4.14.248
	N/A			4.14.261
	N/A			4.14.273
	N/A			4.14.284
	N/A			4.14.303	wolfssl 5.5.4-stable openssl 1.1.1s Adds support for the TPE-R1400, a rockchip RK3328 based router
	N/A			4.14.311	openssl 1.1.1t openvpn 2.5.8, which adds wolfssl support
	N/A			4.14.325	openssl 1.1.1w wolfssl 5.6.3 openvpn 2.5.9 tor 0.4.8.5
	N/A			4.14.334	wolfssl 5.6.6

List of supported hardware

LibreCMC supports the following devices:^[18]

Buffalo (Melco subsidiary)

• WZR-HP-G300NH
• WHR-HP-G300NH

Netgear

• WNDR3800: v1.x

TP-Link

• TL-MR3020: v1
• TL-WR741ND: v1 - v2, v4.20 - v4.27
• TL-WR841ND: v5.x, v8.x, v9.x, v10.x, v11.x, v12.x
• TL-WR842ND: v1, v2
• TL-WR1043ND: v1.x, v2.x, v3.x, v4.x, v5.x

ThinkPenguin

• TPE-NWIFIROUTER2
• TPE-R1100
• TPE-R1200
• TPE-R1300
• TPE-R1400 ^[19]

Qi-Hardware

• Ben Nanonote

See also

• Comparison of Linux distributions
• Linksys WRT54G series
• List of router firmware projects

External links

• • LibreCMC package installation tutorial

Notes and References

1. Web site: libreCMC 1.5.x LICENSE file. 3 July 2020.
2. Web site: List of Free GNU/Linux Distributions . 22 December 2014.
3. Web site: libreCMC FAQ. 2020-07-03. librecmc.org.
4. Web site: 2014-07-12. libreCMC: libreCMC. 2021-01-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20140712002641/http://librecmc.org:80/librecmc/index. 2014-07-12.
5. Web site: 2014-04-23. LibreCMC: Free Software Router Distribution Beta Trisquel GNU/Linux - Run free!. 2021-01-26.
6. Web site: 2014-09-04. Free Software Foundation adds libreCMC to its list of endorsed distributions — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software. 2021-01-26. www.fsf.org.
7. Web site: Free Software Supporter - Issue 78, September 2014 — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software. 2021-01-26. www.fsf.org.
8. Web site: 2014-09-12. ThinkPenguin wireless router now FSF-certified to respect your freedom — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software. 2021-01-26. www.fsf.org.
9. Web site: 2015-09-06. libreCMC: The libre embedded GNU/Linux distro. 2021-01-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20150906152338/https://librecmc.org/librecmc/wiki?name=News. 2015-09-06.
10. Web site: 2 May 2015. libreCMC Project News. https://web.archive.org/web/20150906152338/https://librecmc.org/librecmc/wiki?name=News. 6 September 2015. 16 August 2015.
11. Web site: LibreWRT: What we use for wifi at the FSF — Free Software Foundation — working together for free software. 2019-07-04. www.fsf.org.
12. Web site: List of Free GNU/Linux Distributions - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation.
13. Web site: 2013-06-14. Looking to hide online? PRISM-break shows you how. 3 May 2015. Telecom Tech News.
14. Web site: Zhong. Peng. LibreWRT - Projects - PRISM Break. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141222151421/https://prism-break.org/en/projects/librewrt/. 22 December 2014. 3 May 2015.
15. Web site: 2016-03-10. ThinkPenguin VPN mini-router now FSF-certified to respect your freedom — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software. 2021-01-26. www.fsf.org.
16. https://gogs.librecmc.org/libreCMC/libreCMC/releases Version-Releases of LibreCMC.
17. Web site: 2016-10-27. libreCMC : The libre Embedded GNU/Linux[-libre] distro.]. 2021-01-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20161027172131/https://librecmc.org/librecmc/wiki?name=releases. 2016-10-27.
18. Web site: libreCMC: Supported_Hardware . librecmc.org.
19. Web site: Free Software Gigabit Mini VPN Router (TPE-R1400) from ThinkPenguin, Inc. now FSF-certified to Respect Your Freedom — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software . 2023-04-06 . www.fsf.org.