System requirements:
    * Linux kernel >= 2.6.18 is recommended.  Older versions might still work
      but they haven't been thoroughly tested with this release.
    * Linux kernel >= 2.5.46 is required.
      Older versions without a decent PTRACE_SETOPTIONS support will not work.
    * On mips, Linux kernel >= 2.6.15 is required.
      Older versions without a decent PTRACE_GETREGS support will not work.
    * On s390 and s390x, Linux kernel >= 2.6.27 is required.
      Older versions without a decent PTRACE_GETREGSET support will not work.

( https://raw.githubusercontent.com/strace/strace/master/dist/... )

Де-факто собирается и проходит тесты на RHEL 6 (2.6.32) и, если очень надо, на RHEL 5 (2.6.18). Поддерживаемых дистрибутивов с более старыми ядрами вроде уже нет.