CachyOS Introduces Specialized Kernel for Easy Anti-Cheat Linux v2 Support
CachyOS is developing an opt-in kernel variant that supports Epic's Easy Anti-Cheat v2 while implementing strict security requirements like signed modules and kernel lockdown mode.
CachyOS is preparing linux-cachyos-eac, a separate kernel package for Epic's Easy Anti-Cheat Linux v2.
Maintainer Peter Jung opened a draft pull request on October 27, 2026. The eight commits add the new kernel variant, update it to kernel 7.3.0, adjust its configuration, add a systemd-boot-cachyos-signed package, add PKCS#11 signing support, add an nvidia-580xx module package, and apply matching patches. A wiki draft titled "Easy Anti-Cheat: Add guide to setup EACv2 support" was opened the same day.
The EAC kernel is opt-in and will not be the default configuration. A contributor described a planned button in CachyOS Hello to download the kernel, and users must follow a wiki guide for Secure Boot.
Using this kernel brings restrictions due to lockdown mode. The limits include hibernation, Kdump, PCI passthrough, certain kernel parameters, and likely sched-ext because of BPF restrictions. Ventureoo asked to adjust the issue template so bug reports confirm issues reproduce on the standard configuration. Ventureoo also questioned a build-time check in the PKGBUILD verifying options like LOCK_DOWN_KERNEL_FORCE_INTEGRITY, BPF_LSM, and MODULE_SIG_FORCE, suggesting it could move into build scripts. Jung noted it guards against kconfig script failures.
Signed-module requirements affect out-of-tree and DKMS drivers. Jung stated the kernel will support NVIDIA drivers including Pascal GPUs, ZFS, and r8125 out of the box. Other widely used drivers may be added later, but openrazer and VirtualBox will not.