It’s fairly easy to build your own kernel packages from vanilla sources in Debian. I’m running the latest 7.0.x within a few hours of its release. The build takes about 30-45 minutes depending on how much time I spend on skimming the ChangeLog. YMMV.

Wouldn't Forky/14 have this or newer when it releases next year? Debian moves slow - deliberately so, if you want fast use Arch or Fedora - but it does move.

Not a serious question but I'll give a serious answer anyway.

The last time I worried over which kernel was used in Debian Stable was... never. If I want a more recent kernel I run Debian unstable (Sid) which currently is at 7.0.12 (the current 'stable' kernel where 7.1 is 'mainline') but on my servers Stable (currently 'Trixie') does just fine with its 6.17.3 kernel. Debian 'Forky' will be released somewhere in 2027 with either a 7.0.x or 7.1.x kernel depending on how things go. The current kernel used in 'testing' (which will become 'stable' on the next release) is 7.0.10.

- "Anyway, possible slight hiccups in the merge window aside, the news today is 7.1." - "nothing particularly interesting or scary stands out, which is as it should be."

So, a number.