Rex - Safe and Usable Kernel Extensions in Rust

Learn about Rex, a Linux kernel extension framework that enables writing extension programs in safe Rust as an alternative to eBPF. Discover how Rex eliminates the need for in-kernel verifiers by leveraging language-based safety combined with runtime protection, allowing extensions to be compiled directly to native code rather than eBPF bytecode. Explore the framework's architecture, including its safe kernel crate interface that wraps existing eBPF functionality and its lightweight runtime system that handles Rust panic scenarios, resource cleanup, kernel stack protection, and program termination. Understand the usability advantages Rex offers over traditional eBPF approaches, particularly in avoiding the cryptic feedback from in-kernel verifiers that often reject safe extension programs, and examine how Rex's runtime protection mechanisms provide enhanced safety features such as kernel stack overflow protection that surpass standard eBPF capabilities.