Ubuntu 26.04 virtualization HWE stack offers newer QEMU & libvirt

Ubuntu’s hardware enablement (HWE) effort has expanded to include backports of newer virtualisation tech to users of the current LTS release.

The virtualization HWE stack from Canonical will let users benefit from newer versions of QEMU, libvirt and related firmware on top of their exiting LTS install, refreshed every 6 months for 2 years, without the need to seek out via third-party repos.

Or, to quote Canonical’s Ijlal Loutfi, it gives companies “the operational confidence of an LTS release, with a path to newer virtualization capabilities when they need them”.

If you’re not familiar with the HWE, it’s what brings newer versions of the Linux kernel, GPU drivers and select other foundational pieces from the current Ubuntu release to older LTS releases, allowing it to work with and boot on newer hardware.

HWE updates rollout every 6 months, backporting ‘battle tested’ packages from interim releases. For instance, the kernel and GPU driver set from the upcoming Ubuntu 26.10 release will be included in the Ubuntu 26.04.2 HWE update early 2027.

What’s in the Ubuntu Virtualisation HWE?

The packages (if you’re wondering) include qemu-hwe, libvirt-hwe, edk2-hwe (which bundles OVMF firmware) and seabios-hwe. None come preinstalled on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, so only those who go looking for them will benefit from them.

And the kinds of people who’ll certainly want to go looking are those running confidential computing workloads.

Ubuntu 26.04 already supports AMD SEV-SNP and Intel TDX – tech to encrypt a VM’s memory so even the host can’t peek inside it while it’s running – but, as Canonical notes, “confidential computing features rarely arrive on all of the relevant components at once”.

Kernel support isn’t much use alone if the rest of the stack hasn’t caught up. Waiting two years for the next LTS to roll around isn’t always an option, and neither is switching to an interim release that brings churn everywhere else, affecting production workloads.

If none of this news mean anything to you, or you use Virtualbox or VMware Workstation rather than KVM/QEMU then, don’t sweat this; it’s not going to impact you.

But if you’re thinking “interesting”, here’s how to set it up on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.

Enable virtualization HWE stack on Ubuntu 26.04

Canonical provides a helper tool package to enable the new virtualisation HWE in Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. This helps ensure there’s no mismatch of HWE and non-HWE packages.

The helper can be installed from the Ubuntu 26.04 ‘resolute’ repos:

sudo apt install ubuntu-helper-virt-hwe

Once that’s in place, run ubuntu_virt_helper on its own and it’ll let you know what you’re currently on – base, hwe or none (the latter being what you’ll see if you’re trying this for the fun of it).

To switch between the HWE and non-HWE versions:

sudo ubuntu_virt_helper switch

Worth ensuring you have the kernel HWE stack installed too:

sudo apt install linux-generic-hwe-26.04

A reboot’s needed before any of the new packages take effect, but that’s it.

Ubuntu LTS version make up the bulk of the distro’s install base on desktop, cloud and enterprise. For the small slice running confidential VMs, this new stack offers predictable access to newer versions on a reliable cadence, atop an assured base.