Linux kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman presented a new Rust type at RustWeek 2026 that could prevent most security vulnerabilities. The approach focuses on handling untrusted data from userspace and hardware. It builds on existing Rust safety features already in the kernel.
Greg Kroah-Hartman spoke this week in Utrecht about a Rust-based proposal still under development. He said the Untrusted type would mark incoming data and force explicit validation before use. This change carries no runtime cost and aims to centralize checks for easier review. Kroah-Hartman has overseen every kernel security issue since 2005 and estimates the idea could remove around 80 percent of CVEs.