Rust in the Linux kernel: balance after several years

Four and a half years after Rust officially entered Linux 6.1, with real Apple GPU and NVMe drivers in production and several public conflicts between maintainers, it is time for a sober technical balance. What works, what still costs, and where the next phase is heading.

March 8, 2026 5 min 291 4.3

Software Development

Rust in Linux: Experimental Drivers Opening the Way

Rust joined Linux mainline in version 6.1 (2022), and by 6.9 (2024) it already ships experimental drivers, including Asahi's GPU driver for Apple Silicon. In C/C++ projects like Chromium, around 70 percent of serious security bugs are memory-safety bugs, the real reason kernel maintainers are debating whether to adopt it.

July 7, 2024 5 min 206 4.5