Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Adds WireGuard Support

While WireGuard was merged into Linux 5.6, the Ubuntu 20.04 LTS release is currently tracking Linux 5.4 and for the April release is likely to be shipping with Linux 5.5 as the 5.6 release will be cutting it too close. But Ubuntu 20.04's kernel has now back-ported WireGuard.

There has been the talk in recent weeks over shipping Ubuntu 20.04 LTS with WireGuard support and indeed with Ubuntu's latest kernel in the Focal repository is the WireGuard module back-ported for this secure VPN tunnel.

Back-porting WireGuard for the currently 5.4-based Ubuntu 20.04 LTS kernel is trivial thanks to the WireGuard out-of-tree module maintaining compatibility going back years. Now with the latest kernel build is the WireGuard module.

So thankfully even with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS likely to be running on a Linux 5.5 kernel, WireGuard will be working for this long-term support release.

Wireguard-Tools is available already within the Ubuntu universe archive for the user-space tools. NetworkManager and the like also already has WireGuard support in place.

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS is scheduled to ship on 23 April.