Summary

Node.js 26.8 enables SIV and GCM-SIV modes in Cipher and Decipher, marks TracingChannel stable, improves histogram and net.BlockList behaviour, and adds non-throwing MIMEType.parse. It also adds SQLite StatementSync close and dispose methods, basic REPL syntax highlighting and ZipFile, ZipEntry and ZipBuffer support, alongside certificate and Web Crypto fixes.

Why it matters

These changes affect a large base of JavaScript services and make security, observability and embedded-data workflows easier to build without external packages.

Sources