seL4 News

New seL4 release available

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We’re pleased to announce the release of

seL4 17.0.0: The seL4 microkernel
Microkit 2.4.0: The seL4 Microkit for building static-architecture systems
CAmkES 3.13.1: Component Architecture for microkernel-based Embedded Systems
capDL 0.6.1: Tools for generating, parsing and loading capability distribution specifications
rust-sel4 6.0.0: Rust support for seL4 userspace. See the Rust section on the seL4 docsite for more information.

This release focussed on fixing issues in unverified configurations of seL4, as well as auditing code in verified configurations that is not covered by the scope of seL4’s formal proofs. Like previous releases, this release contains security relevant changes and we recommend upgrading to the latest version of seL4.

We would like to thank Anthropic for reporting a number of these issues and for the constructive, actionable and useful way they were communicated. Overall, this audit has strengthened the security of seL4 in all parts of the kernel that the formal proofs do not make guarantees about.

seL4 17.0.0 and the corresponding Rust support have breaking changes and will require updates if you are using the seL4 API directly. The CAmkES and capDL tool releases are backwards compatible. The Microkit contains security and bug fixes and has breaking changes.

As always, a more detailed list of the changes and user-visible impact can be found in the seL4 release notes and the seL4 docsite, together with upgrade instructions.

Enjoy!

The Australian National University joins seL4 Foundation

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The seL4 Foundation is pleased to welcome the Australian National University (ANU) as an Associate Member. ANU's School of Computing has a longstanding connection to seL4, and ANU researchers have contributed to seL4's original verification efforts and DARPA's HACMS program.

This research contribution continues to grow through a broader concentration of formal methods and programming-languages expertise at ANU. Current work involves the development of programming languages for use with the seL4 Microkit.

The membership strengthens active collaborations between ANU's School of Computing and fellow Australian-based member organisations on the development of secure technology based on the seL4 ecosystem.

The videos and slides of the seL4 Summit 2026 are available online

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Videos of the seL4 Summit 2026 are now available on the seL4 YouTube channel! Links, slides, and posters can be found on the summit Program and Abstracts pages. Thanks to all the speakers for making the seL4 Summit 2026 a great success!

seL4 security proofs now complete on AArch64

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The verification of seL4 on the 64-bit Arm architecture has reached another milestone. After completing the proofs of functional correctness and integrity, Proofcraft has now established the proof that seL4 enforces confidentiality on AArch64, providing a formal mathematical proof that the kernel prevents an application running on top of seL4 from learning information without authorisation.

This milestone completes the formal proof that the seL4 implementation code on AArch64 enforces security isolation of the applications running on top (under the assumptions listed here). This isolation prevents attacks on non-critical applications from propagating to critical applications and compromising them.

Thank you UNSW Sydney, bronze sponsor of the seL4 Summit 2026

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The seL4 Foundation thanks UNSW Sydney for becoming a Bronze sponsor of the seL4 Summit 2026.

seL4 was created by the Trustworthy Systems (TS) team, which is now part of the UNSW, a founding member of the seL4 Foundation.

The team has a track record of designing and implementing systems software for performance and reliability, and using rigorous formal methods to prove that they meet their security and reliability goals. Their aims are to:

shift the software industry away from ad-hoc, unreliable engineering practices, and towards more principled and trustworthy methods; and
make verified software a default choice, especially in safety- and security-critical systems.

The team works with government and commercial partners, as well as the broader software engineering community, to drive this change.

Thank you DornerWorks, sponsor of the seL4 Summit 2026 AM & PM Break

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The seL4 Foundation thanks DornerWorks, sponsor of the seL4 Summit 2026 AM & PM Break.

DornerWorks is an embedded technology partner, a founding member of the seL4 Foundation, and one of its endorsed service providers. Our dedicated team of seL4 experts helps organizations accelerate the integration of seL4 as the trusted software foundation for secure, safety-critical embedded systems and products.

Happy seL4 day!

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On July 29, 2009, the last "sorry" of the seL4 functional correctness proof was eliminated. A "sorry" is an assumed theorem lacking a complete proof. "0 sorries" meant there was nothing left to prove: the project was finished. We now celebrate this day every year to mark the seL4 day, when the world's first formally verified kernel with a machine-checked code-level proof came into existence.

On July 29, 2014, "seL4 day" became a double-celebratory day: the seL4 code and proofs became open source, paving the way to the widespread use it enjoys today.

A big thank-you to all for your continued support!

Learn more about the history of seL4.

New seL4 release available

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We’re pleased to announce the release of

seL4 16.0.0: The seL4 microkernel
Microkit 2.3.0: The seL4 Microkit for building static-architecture systems
CAmkES 3.13.0: Component Architecture for microkernel-based Embedded Systems
capDL 0.6.0: Tools for generating, parsing and loading capability distribution specifications
rust-sel4 5.0.0: Rust support for seL4 userspace. See the Rust section on the seL4 docsite for more information.

seL4 16.0.0 and the corresponding Rust support have breaking changes and will require updates if you are using the seL4 API directly. CAmkES and the capDL tool add units for domain schedules as a new feature, but are backwards compatible. The Microkit release comes with new features and has breaking changes for x86_64 systems.

Enjoy!

Panellists for seL4 Summit announced

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We are very fortunate to welcome five industry leaders to participate at the seL4 Summit 2026, in a session on Certification, Compliance and Policies: enabler or barrier to innovation?: Darren Cofer, Peter Davies, Jonathan Marshall, June Andronick, and James Sharp. The panel will be moderated by Martin Dehnel-Wild.

The seL4 Summit 2026 Program and Abstracts

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The program of the seL4 Summit 2026 is now available!

The 2026 edition of the seL4 summit features a full first day dedicated to high-level overviews and perspectives, followed by Days 2 and 3 focusing on more technical insights and updates. Have a look at the abstracts from our exciting keynotes and voices-from-nearby presenters, and the great line-up of interesting seL4-related research, development, field reports and technical discussions.

The event will offer an ideal opportunity for people new to seL4 and to formally verified systems to increase their understanding of the landscape and ecosystem, and meet with seL4 developers, adopters and enthusiasts. Don't forget to register and see you soon in Vancouver.

Program at a glance. Go to the full program.