How to check when Linux kernel is updated on server ?

Lets see a quick tip today to see how to check when our system kernel is last updated on server.

It helps us to identify when our last kernel updated to understand the patching cycle.

1. Check from which kernel our system is booted.

[root@ngelinux001 boot]# uname -a
Linux ngelinux001 3.10.0-514.rt56.228.el6rt.x86_64 #1 SMP PREEMPT RT Fri Jun 23 14:31:18 EDT 2017 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

2. Check out all installed kernel packages.

[root@ngelinux001 boot]# rpm -qa | grep -i kernel
kernel-rt-3.10.0-514.rt56.228.el6rt.x86_64
kernel-firmware-2.6.32-754.39.1.el6.noarch
kernel-headers-2.6.32-754.39.1.el6.x86_64
kernel-rt-firmware-3.10.0-693.11.1.rt56.597.el6rt.noarch
dracut-kernel-004-411.el6.noarch

3. Check out when the last kernel package was installed.
For RT-Real Time Kernel

[root@ngelinux001 boot]# rpm -qa -last | grep -i kernel-rt
kernel-rt-3.10.0-514.rt56.228.el6rt.x86_64    Thu 28 Dec 2017 14:12:07 UTC
kernel-rt-firmware-3.10.0-693.11.1.rt56.597.el6rt.noarch Thu 28 Dec 2017 14:09:42 UTC

For all kernel packages.

[root@ngelinux001 boot]# rpm -qa -last | grep -i kernel
kernel-headers-2.6.32-754.39.1.el6.x86_64     Fri 27 Aug 2021 11:18:15 UTC
kernel-firmware-2.6.32-754.39.1.el6.noarch    Fri 27 Aug 2021 11:17:34 UTC
dracut-kernel-004-411.el6.noarch              Thu 30 Jul 2020 13:32:19 UTC
kernel-rt-3.10.0-514.rt56.228.el6rt.x86_64    Thu 28 Dec 2017 14:12:07 UTC
kernel-rt-firmware-3.10.0-693.11.1.rt56.597.el6rt.noarch Thu 28 Dec 2017 14:09:42 UTC

Hence now you can get the date/time of the packages installed on your server, and similarly for kernel package/RPM.

And then you can check and advise team when the last kernel was patched.

Tags: centosdatekernellastlinuxpackagepackagesredhatrhelrpmrpm -qaupdatewhenyum