--- title: Rust Becomes a Core Component of the Linux Kernel description: Rust has officially shed its 'experimental' status in the Linux kernel as of 2025, following unanimous agreement at the Kernel Maintainers Summit. Initially... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/rust-becomes-a-core-component-of-the-linux-kernel-swg2rdoun twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Rust Becomes a Core Component of the Linux Kernel | daily.dev og:description: Rust has officially shed its 'experimental' status in the Linux kernel as of 2025, following unanimous agreement at the Kernel Maintainers Summit. Initially... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/rust-becomes-a-core-component-of-the-linux-kernel-swg2rdoun og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/SwG2RDouN.png og:image:alt: Rust Becomes a Core Component of the Linux Kernel og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Rust Becomes a Core Component of the Linux Kernel **[Collections](https://daily.dev/sources/collections)** · 2 min read · 7 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary Rust has officially shed its 'experimental' status in the Linux kernel as of 2025, following unanimous agreement at the Kernel Maintainers Summit. Initially introduced in kernel 6.1, Rust has proven it can coexist with C while addressing critical memory safety concerns that account for two-thirds of kernel vulnerabilities. Though C still dominates with 34 million lines versus Rust's 25,000, the language is gaining traction in network, storage, and NVMe driver development. The integration extends to production environments like Android, with potential inclusion in Debian stable. While challenges remain around licensing and architecture support, and Rust experienced its first kernel CVE, the community's swift response demonstrates commitment to security. This milestone represents a long-term investment in kernel safety and reliability, with support from key maintainers including Linus Torvalds. ## Content Rust has transitioned from an experimental phase to being a recognized core component of the Linux kernel, marking a significant milestone in systems programming. In 2025, at the Kernel Maintainers Summit, maintainers unanimously agreed to remove the 'experimental' label from Rust, acknowledging its maturity alongside C. This integration intends to address ongoing memory safety concerns, as two-thirds of kernel vulnerabilities are traditionally attributed to memory issues. Initially introduced in kernel version 6.1, Rust's presence in the kernel has grown over five years, proving it can coexist with C without disrupting the stability of core subsystems. The language now not only supports but enhances the development of various kernel components, particularly network, storage, and NVMe drivers. Although C still dominates with approximately 34 million lines to Rust's 25,000, the potential for reducing vulnerabilities makes Rust an attractive option for new development. Rust's success in systems programming arrives where C++ failed to gain substantial adoption in the Linux kernel, highlighting its safety and reliability contributions. Furthermore, its integration into widely used devices, such as Android and potentially in the Debian stable release, underscores Rust's applicability in mainstream production environments. As part of this evolution, the Linux community must still navigate ongoing challenges, including licensing concerns (MIT/Apache vs. GPL) and adapting support across all architectures. Additionally, while Rust greatly reduces the incidence of severe vulnerabilities, it is not immune, as demonstrated by its first Linux kernel CVE (CVE-2025-68260) affecting the Android Binder driver. Nevertheless, the community promptly addressed this issue, displaying proper security scrutiny and commitment to continuous improvement. The official adoption of Rust signifies a long-term commitment to enhancing the safety and reliability of the Linux kernel. Encouraging developers and companies to invest in Rust-based kernel development could drive further innovations and opportunities in systems programming, ultimately benefiting developers skilled in both C and Rust. Maintainers, including Linus Torvalds and Greg Kroah-Hartman, support the ongoing integration, viewing it as an essential step towards future-proofing the kernel's development and security landscape. ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@justbrowsing** · 0 upvotes > A quick note: Rust can interop with C, although it can take a bit of setup. [ `#[repr(C)]`](https://doc.rust-lang.org/nomicon/other-reprs.html) enforces C-compatibility for a type, and [`Drop`]() is Rust's trait for manually destructing a type. > > I don't normally work with Rust and C interop, so I'll stop here. --- Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#rust](https://daily.dev/tags/rust) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/rust-becomes-a-core-component-of-the-linux-kernel-swg2rdoun) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Rust Becomes a Core Component of the Linux Kernel","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/rust-becomes-a-core-component-of-the-linux-kernel-swg2rdoun","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/rust-becomes-a-core-component-of-the-linux-kernel-swg2rdoun"},"datePublished":"2025-12-12T14:49:49.691Z","dateModified":"2025-12-20T16:28:39.621Z","description":"Rust has officially shed its 'experimental' status in the Linux kernel as of 2025, following unanimous agreement at the Kernel Maintainers Summit. 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