QEMU 11.0 drops 32-bit host support, adds native AWS Nitro Enclaves & expands CPU support

QEMU 11.0 has been released, marking a substantial shift as all support for 32-bit host systems has been removed. This decision addresses the maintenance burden of legacy architectures, but impacts users who relied on 32-bit environments for virtual machine workloads.

Among high-impact updates, QEMU 11.0 introduces a new Nitro accelerator that enables native running of AWS Nitro Enclaves. Additionally, improved support for MSHV and WHPX accelerators expands hardware virtualization options, especially valuable for users on Windows and those leveraging Hyper-V.

The new release also brings major advancements to Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) support: it now handles Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET) virtualization and adds reset capabilities for SEV-SNP and Trusted Domain Extensions (TDX) confidential virtual machines. These features strengthen QEMU’s ability to host secure and isolated workloads.

Building on earlier platforms, virtio-gpu gains support for native context drivers and allows a unique resolution to be set for each display output. Developers benefit from in-tree support for C++ plugins in Tiny Code Generator (TCG), and new enhancements to NFS block drivers, including support for libnfs v6, as well as various improvements to FUSE and curl block drivers.