AWS released Amazon Linux 2027 (AL2027) in public preview on September 3, 2026, jumping from Linux 6.1 to Kernel 7.1.x. The release enables SELinux enforcing mode by default, ships GCC 16.1, and includes AWS-LC for cryptographic workloads. Early benchmarks show 5-15% improvement in tail latency under load for most EC2 workloads.