Carcinisation of the Linux Kernel

BBB-Link: https://bbb.tu-dresden.de/b/mat-xin-oyh-xzn

Presentation Language: English

Plagued by vulnerabilities caused by the use of memory-unsafe languages such as C, a focus on safe systems programming languages like Rust has emerged in the programming community. This has also shown in the area of operating systems, where the use of garbage collected, but safe languages is usually not an option. The Rust for Linux (RFL) project started in 2013, with an inital RFC in 2021, introduces Rust to the Linux kernel as a second language, where the main goals are the reduction of memory safety bugs and having modern language features available in the kernel. We give an introduction into RFL, look into its motivation, introduce basic features of Rust, show how Rust is integrated into the Kernel and how it is used in drivers. We also evaluate RFL in terms of performance, security, development speed, tooling, developer adaption and other metrics, to determine whether the goals of the initial RFC have been met. Although there has been resistance and various conflicts surrounding the project, the Rust experiment was successfully concluded in the end of 2025 and landed several drivers in the kernel and in out-of-tree projects.