ZDNet Reports from Open Source Summit India 2026: Rust and Linux Integration
In an engaging talk at the Open Source Summit India 2026 held in Mumbai, Greg Kroah-Hartman, the stable Linux kernel lead, discussed the transformative potential of the Rust programming language for Linux. His presentation titled “Rust and Linux: How the Rust language will help Linux succeed,” highlighted the inevitable shift towards Rust in Linux kernel development. Kroah-Hartman emphasized, “The [Linux] core is heading to Rust. Git is heading to Rust. Many projects are starting to move to Rust.”
From Skeptic to Advocate: Kroah-Hartman’s Journey with Rust
Initially, Kroah-Hartman was not convinced about Rust’s advantages. Recalling an interaction with a friend who encouraged him to explore Rust, he shared, “I was like, ‘What? No, it’s great.’ His friend insisted, “‘No, no, no! It makes programming fun again.’ I’m like, ‘No, programming is fun in C.’ He was right. I should have done it then. Rust is really fun. It makes programming fun. It saves you having to worry about the compiler, which can solve a lot of your problems for you, and makes the code a little better.”
This change of heart has led Kroah-Hartman to become one of Rust’s strongest proponents, recognizing it as an integral part of Linux’s future rather than an experiment. He argues that Rust’s property and type system can significantly reduce the “stupid little things” that are often the source of kernel vulnerabilities, thus facilitating the work of maintainers. He explained, “Rust makes my life so much easier…”
Rust’s Role in Enhancing Linux Security
According to Kroah-Hartman, Linux identifies “about 13 CVEs a day” and has maintained a pace of “almost nine changes an hour” for over a decade. He noted that most vulnerabilities arise from simple C errors such as unchecked pointers and forgotten unlocks. “That’s what we fix 13 times a day. Small, trivial bugs like this all the time… I’ve seen every CVE the kernel has done over the last 25 years. I think 80% would be gone, simply because they would be detected by Rust. The remaining 20% are the logic bugs he would prefer to focus on….”
Adoption of Rust for New Developments
Rust is fast becoming the default choice for new developments in key subsystems. Kroah-Hartman announced, “New drivers for certain subsystems will only be accepted in Rust…” A notable example is Binder, the Android IPC mechanism, which now features parallel C and Rust implementations within the kernel. The C version is expected to “disappear soon,” leaving the Rust version as the foundation for all Android devices in the future.
For more details on Greg Kroah-Hartman’s insights and the shift towards Rust in Linux, visit the full report here.
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