Linux is not planning a wholesale rewrite from C to Rust, but Rust is no longer an experiment inside the kernel project. At Open Source Summit India in Mumbai, stable-kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman said the language is now a permanent part of Linux development and will increasingly be used for new code where memory-safety failures are costly.
As reported by ZDNET, Kroah-Hartman described Rust as a practical way to reduce the constant maintenance burden created by common C errors: invalid pointer use, missed cleanup, broken error paths and locking mistakes. His view is not that Rust prevents every kernel bug, but that it lets compilers catch a large class of routine defects before code reaches reviewers or users.
The Linux kernel remains overwhelmingly C, and Kroah-Hartman reiterated that existing, working C code should generally be left alone. The project’s preference is to use Rust for suitable new work, rather than create risky rewrites simply to change languages.
That distinction matters. Linux kernel Rust support entered mainline in version 6.1, initially as an experiment. The Linux Foundation’s Open Source Summit India program confirms Kroah-Hartman’s June 2026 keynote was specifically about how Rust can help Linux’s future, while the Rust project said late last year that kernel maintainers had agreed to drop the experimental label.
Kernel documentation also makes clear that Rust currently sits alongside C: generated bindings expose C kernel interfaces, while Rust abstractions aim to contain unsafe access behind safer APIs. Drivers and file systems are among the intended users.
He estimated that Rust could have prevented roughly 80% of the kernel CVEs he has seen, while acknowledging that it cannot fix logic errors. That is an informed personal estimate, not a published security measurement, but it captures the direction of the project: reduce avoidable memory-safety and cleanup failures, then spend attention on harder bugs.
The work has also fed back into C. Kroah-Hartman said Rust bindings pushed maintainers to rethink difficult kernel interfaces and introduce safer cleanup and scoped-resource patterns that improve C-side code as well.
There is no immediate action for Windows administrators or end users. The practical long-term effect is that new Linux kernel components—especially where Rust becomes the preferred or required option—may arrive with fewer classes of memory-management defects, while Windows systems using WSL and Linux-based infrastructure inherit those upstream improvements over time.
As reported by ZDNET, Kroah-Hartman described Rust as a practical way to reduce the constant maintenance burden created by common C errors: invalid pointer use, missed cleanup, broken error paths and locking mistakes. His view is not that Rust prevents every kernel bug, but that it lets compilers catch a large class of routine defects before code reaches reviewers or users.
A shift in emphasis, not a C eviction
The Linux kernel remains overwhelmingly C, and Kroah-Hartman reiterated that existing, working C code should generally be left alone. The project’s preference is to use Rust for suitable new work, rather than create risky rewrites simply to change languages.That distinction matters. Linux kernel Rust support entered mainline in version 6.1, initially as an experiment. The Linux Foundation’s Open Source Summit India program confirms Kroah-Hartman’s June 2026 keynote was specifically about how Rust can help Linux’s future, while the Rust project said late last year that kernel maintainers had agreed to drop the experimental label.
Kernel documentation also makes clear that Rust currently sits alongside C: generated bindings expose C kernel interfaces, while Rust abstractions aim to contain unsafe access behind safer APIs. Drivers and file systems are among the intended users.
Reviewers, CVEs and better C APIs
Kroah-Hartman’s main argument is about scale. Linux has thousands of contributors but far fewer core maintainers who must review changes. Rust’s ownership, lifetime and type checks can shift basic resource-management verification to the compiler, leaving humans more time to review the actual logic and design of a patch.He estimated that Rust could have prevented roughly 80% of the kernel CVEs he has seen, while acknowledging that it cannot fix logic errors. That is an informed personal estimate, not a published security measurement, but it captures the direction of the project: reduce avoidable memory-safety and cleanup failures, then spend attention on harder bugs.
The work has also fed back into C. Kroah-Hartman said Rust bindings pushed maintainers to rethink difficult kernel interfaces and introduce safer cleanup and scoped-resource patterns that improve C-side code as well.
What it means for Windows users
This is primarily a Linux and Android infrastructure story, not a change to Windows itself. But Windows users encounter Linux through WSL, virtual machines, containers, cloud hosts, Android tooling and hardware ecosystems built on Linux drivers.There is no immediate action for Windows administrators or end users. The practical long-term effect is that new Linux kernel components—especially where Rust becomes the preferred or required option—may arrive with fewer classes of memory-management defects, while Windows systems using WSL and Linux-based infrastructure inherit those upstream improvements over time.
References
- Primary source: ZDNET
Published: 2026-07-15T16:13:42+00:00
'Rust makes coding fun again': Why Linux is moving away from C, according to Greg Kroah-Hartman
C won't be disappearing tomorrow, says the stable kernel maintainer, but the future of Linux belongs to Rust.www.zdnet.com - Related coverage: tech.yahoo.com
'Rust makes coding fun again': Why Linux is moving away from C, according to Greg Kroah-Hartman
C won't be disappearing tomorrow, says the stable kernel maintainer, but the future of Linux belongs to Rust.tech.yahoo.com - Related coverage: itsfoss.com
Rust Could Eliminate 80% of Linux Kernel CVEs!
Linux's stable maintainer is betting on a new Rust type to address a class of bugs C has never been able to fully prevent.
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Rust will save Linux: Greg Kroah-Hartman confirms the end of the experiment
Greg Kroah-Hartman confirms that Rust is no longer an experiment on Linux and has become the primary tool for curbing system vulnerabilities.blog.desdelinux.net - Related coverage: users.rust-lang.org
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