Linux 7.2 Adds 39,000 Rust Lines, Cutting Unsafe Code and Boosting Performance
Updated
Updated · Phoronix · Jun 15
Linux 7.2 Adds 39,000 Rust Lines, Cutting Unsafe Code and Boosting Performance
1 articles · Updated · Phoronix · Jun 15
Summary
Linux 7.2’s Rust update pulls in the zerocopy library—about 39,000 added lines—to replace more kernel "unsafe" code used in byte-to-type conversions.
Zerocopy is being imported largely as-is, and kernel developers said an isolated test produced essentially identical code generation while removing one unsafe implementation and avoiding some remaining panics.
Rust support in 7.2 also gains AutoFDO, with maintainers citing about a 13% performance difference in Rust Binder, alongside software tag-based KASAN support.
The merge-window changes further prepare the kernel for Rust 1.98, extending Linux’s push to use Rust for safer low-level code without sacrificing speed.