We’re excited to announce that Admin By Request for Linux 4.0 is nearly ready for release. This update represents a significant step forward in our commitment to delivering consistent privilege management across all major platforms.
For organizations running mixed environments, Linux 4.0 brings two major features that Windows and macOS users have relied on for years: Break Glass accounts and Multi-Factor Authentication. These additions bring our Linux offering much closer to feature parity with our other platforms, giving IT teams the flexibility to deploy our EPM solution across their entire infrastructure without compromising on capability.
What’s New in Linux 4.0
Break Glass Accounts Come to Linux
The Break Glass feature is now available on Linux endpoints. This is your escape hatch for those critical situations where normal access methods won’t cut it (think broken domain trust relationships or administrators who need emergency access without existing credentials).
Here’s how it works: from the Admin By Request portal, you provision a temporary local admin account for a specific endpoint. The account is good for a single use within a pre-configured time window (typically two hours), then it’s automatically removed. Everything is logged, so there’s a complete audit trail of who accessed what and when.
This works identically to how Break Glass functions on Windows and macOS, which means your IT team doesn’t need to learn different procedures for different operating systems.
Multi-Factor Authentication for Linux Endpoints
MFA is now supported on Linux, and it works across both graphical interfaces and command-line environments. Portal administrators can require MFA for elevation requests (and optionally for pre-approved apps) using the same portal settings they’re already familiar with.
On GUI systems, users authenticate through a browser window, just like on Windows or macOS. For command-line users, we’ve implemented a clever solution: they receive a URL and an ASCII-rendered QR code that can be scanned with their phone to trigger the authentication prompt.
The authentication process uses single sign-on with email matching against Entra ID or Active Directory, keeping everything centralized and consistent with your existing identity management.
Account Separation for Compliance
Linux 4.0 also adds support for Account Separation to help organizations meet Cyber Essentials Plus requirements. This allows administrators to enforce that privilege elevation requires a different account from the one used for day-to-day work on the endpoint.
Getting Closer to Feature Parity
With this release, we’re narrowing the gap between our Linux offering and what’s available on Windows and macOS. Break Glass and MFA are foundational features that many organizations consider non-negotiable for their privilege management strategy. Having them available across all three platforms means fewer compromises when designing your security architecture.
We’re not claiming full parity yet (there are still some Windows and macOS features that haven’t made it to Linux), but we’re getting there. Each release brings Linux closer to the full feature set, and we’re committed to making sure our Linux users aren’t treated as second-class citizens.
Availability and Updates
Linux 4.0 will be available through your distribution’s package update process. We typically make new releases available via our update process within 4-8 weeks of announcement to allow time to rectify unforeseen issues, though this timeline can vary based on what we learn from early adopters.
If you need access to the latest version immediately, you can reach out to us directly or raise a support ticket. We’re always happy to work with organizations who want to get their hands on new features as soon as they’re ready.
Organizations interested in evaluating Linux 4.0 will need endpoints running Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL9), or Rocky Linux 9.0.
We’re looking forward to seeing how organizations put these new capabilities to work!
