Whonix 18 Beta Released: Adds Full IPv6 Support, LXQt, and Wayland-Only Kloak Anonymizer
The Whonix team has unveiled a test build of the major release Whonix 18.0.7.5, a distribution designed for anonymous internet use, and is calling on the community to assist with testing. Prebuilt images are available for download via direct links for VirtualBox and KVM, with a separate announcement for Qubes OS builds promised later. As an alternative to a clean installation, users may upgrade existing systems by following the guide Release Upgrade Whonix 17 to Whonix 18 along with the reference materials in What is a release upgrade.
This release updates the underlying Kicksecure 18.0.7.5 platform and expands the mechanisms that prevent deanonymization through keyboard and mouse events. Input-obfuscation algorithms in the Anti Keystroke and Mouse Deanonymization module have been refined, and the Kloak tool has been completely rewritten, now functioning exclusively with Wayland. Further details regarding the redesigned input subsystem are available in the repository GitHub – Whonix/kloak. For Qubes builds, support for Qubes Event Buffering in Qubes R4.3 and later is enabled by default.
A significant portion of the update concerns networking and Tor. Developers have added and enabled IPv6 support across Whonix configurations, while gateway service scripts now verify the readiness of the network stack and the correctness of address assignment before Tor is launched. If no usable IPv6 connectivity exists, the stack may be disabled to ensure Tor does not bind to unreachable addresses. In whonix-firewall, IPv6 autoconfiguration and address handling in Qubes have been improved, and nmap with the nping module is now installed by default to aid in network troubleshooting. Discussion of diagnostic tools continues in the forum thread Ping operation permitted?.
At the desktop-environment level, the distribution transitions from Xfce to LXQt, reflected in revised metapackages and dependencies. Interface refinements include updated screen-lock settings and improvements to the Waybar panel. Thumbnail previews in PCManFM-Qt are disabled by default, and superfluous elements—such as the desktop network icon and volume controls on the gateway—have been removed. Configuration for sysmaint maintenance sessions has been moved into base packages to simplify upkeep.
For Whonix–Qubes integration, several systemd units and the replace-ips script have been reworked to handle configuration files more cleanly and properly account for IPv6 addresses. In the Whonix installer for Windows, auxiliary scripts have been added to disable Hyper-V and revert system settings, and logging and error handling have been strengthened. These changes, however, are preparatory and not yet active in the current installer version.
The developers emphasize that Whonix 18.0.7.5 is intended primarily for testers, encouraging users to evaluate the new branch, report issues, and, where possible, support the project financially via Donating to Whonix or by contributing to testing, documentation, or development as outlined on the page Contribute to Whonix.
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