Ubuntu 26.10 stops the OOM killer from taking down your whole desktop

Ubuntu 26.10 changes how the system decides which processes get killed when memory runs low, so a rogue browser tab is less likely to punt you back to the login screen. Right now, when your system runs out of memory, the kernel’s out-of-memory (OOM) killer starts nuking processes to free some up. The issue is that doesn’t always kill the right ones. And that’s because, by default, many apps and critical desktop services share the same priority score. Firefox and GNOME Shell, for example, both have the same priority status. If memory pressure spikes, the OOM killer may decide to […]
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https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2026/09/ubuntu-memory-oomd-changes