Linus tightens rc rules after networking pull includes old ovpn fixes

Linus Torvalds has accepted the networking updates for Linux 7.3-rc5 while drawing a sharper line on what belongs in a release candidate. After reviewing the pull from networking maintainer Jakub Kicinski, Torvalds objected to several ovpn fixes that addressed problems present since the code was first merged, were not tagged for stable, and went unmentioned in the merge notes.

In Torvalds' view, a change that is neither a regression nor critical does not belong in an -rc. "Not a regression, not critical" should mean the next release, not rc material, he wrote. Post-merge-window patches must clear a higher bar than simply being "a fix": they need to be regressions that break existing setups, or important enough to warrant stable backports. Long-standing defects that never worked can still ship if they are serious security problems, he said, but more often they are unused paths that only surface because an LLM flagged them.

Kicinski agreed the ovpn material was borderline, a choice between sending it for rc5 or risking a larger rc6, and said the networking tree will tighten its filters. He also noted that regressions in the subsystem have become rare and that automated review has raised baseline patch quality, which changes the risk math maintainers face during stabilization.

The exchange underscores a recurring tension in the late cycle: rc releases exist to stabilize what landed in the merge window, not to vacuum every historical correctness issue discovered afterward. Torvalds has pulled the tree, but the message to maintainers is that "fix" alone is no longer enough after the window closes.