Linux runs the world’s data centers, servers, and embedded devices. It powers Android phones by the billions. Yet for decades, its core—written mostly in C—harbored risks. Memory bugs. Crashes. Security holes. Developers fixed them reactively, patching after failures hit. Then came Rust.
Rust doesn’t patch. It prevents. Compile-time checks block invalid memory access, forgotten cleanups, data overwrites before code even runs. MakeUseOf spotlighted this shift: C’s power built Linux, but its dangers made systems fragile. Rust refuses dangerous code outright. “Rust looks at that entire mess and goes, ‘Absolutely not,'” wrote author Roine Bertelson. If code might mishandle memory, it won’t compile.
Kernel teams added Rust support in 2022. Not to rewrite everything—no one’s touching the vast C codebase. Instead, new drivers and risky components get Rust first. Why drivers? They’re crash-prone, often from third parties. Rust slashes those failures. Fewer freezes. Fewer exploits.
Fast-forward to 2026. Linux 7.0, released April 12, ended the Rust experiment. Maintainers declared it permanent. Miguel Ojeda, Rust-for-Linux lead, posted the patch: “The experiment is done, i.e., Rust is here to stay.” Phoronix covered the milestone from the 2025 Kernel Maintainers Summit. Production proof? Android 16’s ashmem allocator, in Rust, ships on millions of devices via Linux 6.12 kernel.
And performance? It’s following. Linux 7.1’s merge window, just opening, brings CONFIG_RUST_INLINE_HELPERS. This experimental option inlines C helpers into Rust code—like targeted link-time optimization, but cheaper. Result: measurable speedups. The Rust null block driver? 2% faster. It needs LLVM Clang matching Rust’s version, works for modules too. Ojeda’s pull request lists it alongside Rust 1.85 baseline (up from 1.78) and bindgen 0.71.1.
But 2%? In kernels, it adds up. Microbenchmarks on refcount_inc—notoriously hot—show Rust matching C speeds post-inlining. Binder benchmarks improved too. Alice Ryhl of Google drove early patches; her 46-patch series annotates helpers for better LTO in Rust builds. Phoronix noted some landed in 7.0.
Stability first. Then speed. Rust’s borrow checker enforces rules at compile time. No null pointers dangling. No buffer overflows sneaking through. Systems stay responsive under load. User-space follows: Ubuntu 25.10 swapped GNU Coreutils for Rust versions—faster in spots, though tweaks fixed early regressions. Phoronix tracked the push. Debian’s APT gets hard Rust requirements by May 2026 for safer parsing.
Graphics drivers accelerate the trend. Linux 7.1’s DRM Rustabstractions: DMA coherent API rework, GPU buddy allocators, shared memory GEM helpers. NVIDIA’s Nova driver? Rust-based, targeting modern GPUs. Phoronix detailed the influx. DRM maintainers eye requiring Rust for new drivers within a year.
Kernel 7.0 prepped for Rust 1.95 too. Path remapping boosts build reproducibility—no absolute paths leaking. Dependency info streams directly, ditching temp files. Pin-init crate tightened soundness, dropping packed field hacks. Phoronix highlighted these as Torvalds-approved.
Challenges persist. Dual languages mean dual tools, toolchains. GCC lags Rust support; LLVM leads. Compile times? Rust’s no free lunch. But gains outweigh. Google reports 1000x fewer memory bugs in Android Rust vs. C. Linux maintainers see safer drivers already.
Users notice. Apps don’t collapse. Desktops stay snappy. Servers hum without drama. “Stability is the new performance metric,” per MakeUseOf. Consistency. Reliability. No surprises.
So where next? More subsystems. BUS1 IPC, fully Rust, eyes mainline—9,000 lines for better inter-process comms. Phoronix. PWM drivers get Rust bindings. Workqueues optimize for many-core CPUs in 7.1.
Rust isn’t replacing C overnight. It’s fortifying Linux where it counts. Data centers demand uptime. Phones can’t crash. Servers scale to exascale. Rust delivers.
Expect Linux 7.1 stable by late May. With it, Rust’s optimizations broaden. Inline helpers enabled. Drivers proliferate. Performance creeps up. Stability locks in.
Linux was fast. Now it’s unbreakable too.
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