Amazon Linux 2 is a Linux distribution that is designed to be highly compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and offers long-term support, security updates, and performance enhancements. This product has associated charges for the support provided and the Pre-configured stack. The Linux kernel is the core component of the operating system that manages the system's resources and provides an interface for other software to interact with the hardware.

As of February 2023, the latest version of Amazon Linux 2 that is officially supported by Amazon Web Services (AWS) uses the Linux kernel version 4.14. This version of the kernel was first released in 2017 and is also an LTS (Long-Term Support) release. LTS releases typically receive security updates and bug fixes for a longer period of time than non-LTS releases, which can be important for systems that require long-term stability and reliability.

While Amazon Linux 2 can run on other kernel versions, version 4.14 is the recommended kernel for the distribution as it has been optimized and tested for use with Amazon Web Services. Additionally, Amazon provides support and security updates for this kernel version for the duration of the Amazon Linux 2 support lifecycle.