Kernel Version in Linux [Easy Way to Check]

Kernel version in Linux can be checked easily. The kernel is the core component of an operating system. It manages the system’s resources, and it is a bridge between your computer’s hardware and software.

There are various reasons why you might need to know the version of the kernel that is running on your GNU/Linux operating system. Perhaps you’re debugging a hardware related issue or learned about a new security vulnerability affecting older kernel versions and you want to find out whether your kernel is vulnerable or not. Whatever the reason, it’s quite easy to determine the Linux kernel version from the command line.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you several different ways to find out what version of Linux kernel is running on your system.

Using the uname Command

The uname command displays several system information including, the Linux kernel architecture, name version, and release.

To find out what version of the Linux kernel is running on your system, type the following command:

$ uname -srm

Output

Linux 4.15.0-54-generic x86_64 

The output above shows that the Linux kernel is 64-bit and its version is 4.15.0-54, where:

• 4 – Kernel Version.
• 15 – Major Revision.
• 0 – Minor Revision.
• 54 – Patch number.
• generic – Distribution specific information.

Using hostnamectl command

The hostnamectl utility is part of systemd, and it is used to query and change the system hostname. It also displays the Linux distribution and kernel version:

$ hostnamectl

Output

   Static hostname:  linuxize.localdomain
          Icon name: computer-laptop
            Chassis: laptop
         Machine ID: af8ce1d394b844fea8c19ea5c6a9bd09
            Boot ID: 15bc3ae7bde842f29c8d925044f232b9
   Operating System: Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS
             Kernel: Linux 4.15.0-54-generic
       Architecture: x86-64 

You can use the grep command to filter out the Linux kernel version:

$ hostnamectl | grep -i kernel

Output

 Kernel: Linux 4.15.0-54-generic 

Using /proc/version File

The /proc directory contains virtual files with information about the system memory, CPU cores, mounted filesystems, and more. Information about the running kernel is stored in the /proc/version virtual file.

Use cat or less to display the contents of the file:

$ cat /proc/version

Output

Linux version 4.15.0-54-generic (buildd@lgw01-amd64-014) (gcc version 7.4.0 (Ubuntu 7.4.0-1ubuntu1~18.04.1)) #58-Ubuntu SMP Thu Oct 24 09:55:24 UTC 2019 

Kernel Version in Linux: Conclusion

We have shown you how to find the version of the Linux kernel running on your system from the command line. The commands should work on all popular Linux distributions including, Debian, Arch Linux, Fedora, CentOS, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Kali Linux, OpenSUSE, Linux Mint, and more.