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Google said the Pixel 10 modem firmware now includes a memory-safe Rust DNS parser, marking the first time a Pixel device has used a memory-safe language inside its cellular baseband. The company said the change is intended to reduce memory-safety flaws in a component that processes untrusted remote data and has a broad remote attack surface, citing prior Project Zero research that demonstrated remote code execution against Pixel modems over the Internet.
To build the feature, Google adapted the open-source hickory-proto crate for bare-metal use by adding no_std support and integrated it into the modem’s existing C/C++ firmware environment with rustc, Pigweed, GN, and FFI. Engineers reused the modem’s allocator and crash-handling systems and resolved linker-driven performance regressions after compiler_builtins conflicted with modem-optimized memset and memcpy routines, ultimately stripping those builtins from the Rust static library before linking. Google said the work extends earlier modem hardening in Pixel 9 and lays the groundwork for broader Rust adoption across baseband components.
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In its public blog post, Google said Pixel 10 is the first Pixel device to use a memory-safe language in its modem firmware. Google framed the deployment as a step toward broader adoption of memory-safe code in baseband components.
Google said Pixel 10 modem firmware incorporates a memory-safe Rust-based DNS parser using the open-source hickory-proto crate, adapted with no_std support for bare-metal use. The company integrated the Rust component into the existing modem firmware build system with rustc, Pigweed, GN, and FFI alongside C/C++ code.
Google said its Pixel 10 baseband Rust work builds on modem hardening previously introduced in Pixel 9. The reference does not provide a specific date for the Pixel 9 hardening effort.
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Google integrated a memory-safe Rust DNS parser into Pixel 10 cellular-modem firmware, moving a remotely exposed, complex input-processing component out of C/C++. The implementation uses the open-source `hickory-proto` library, which Google helped extend with `no_std` support for bare-metal environments, and connects it to the existing modem codebase through FFI. The added code consumes about 371 KB, a tradeoff Google accepted because modem memory capacity was not a limiting constraint. The change addresses a historically high-risk attack surface: Project Zero previously disclosed multiple Exynos modem vulnerabilities, including internet-to-baseband remote-code-execution flaws affecting Pixel devices. Google has separately expanded Pixel baseband defenses with bounds and integer-overflow sanitizers, stack canaries, control-flow integrity, automatic stack-variable initialization, and fuzzing or sanitizer-based testing. Its firmware guidance promotes incremental Rust adoption—particularly for parsers handling untrusted data—as a practical way to reduce memory-safety exposure without rewriting entire low-level codebases.
Sep 27, 2026
Google has reported a significant reduction in memory safety vulnerabilities in Android, attributing this improvement to the adoption of the Rust programming language. According to Google, the proportion of memory safety bugs in Android has dropped below 20% for the first time, with Rust code demonstrating a 1000x reduction in vulnerability density compared to C and C++. The transition to Rust has also led to operational benefits, such as a lower rollback rate and faster code review cycles, and Google plans to expand Rust's use to additional components of the Android ecosystem, including the kernel, firmware, and key applications. Security experts emphasize that secure coding should focus on principles like secure by default and secure by design, rather than simply identifying vulnerabilities. The integration of Rust into Android's codebase exemplifies how adopting memory-safe languages can serve as a practical application of these secure coding principles, reducing the burden on developers and improving overall software security. Google's experience also highlights the importance of a defense-in-depth approach, as even memory-safe languages like Rust can have vulnerabilities if unsafe code is used, as demonstrated by the discovery and patching of a buffer overflow in the CrabbyAVIF parser before public release.
Jun 29, 2026
Google released its September 2026 Pixel security update to fix **CVE-2026-58704**, an actively exploited zero-day in the cellular modem component. Google said exploitation is limited and targeted; the improper-authorization flaw can allow a nearby attacker with basic device privileges to bypass access controls and elevate privileges without user interaction. The update addresses 110 Pixel vulnerabilities overall, including dozens rated critical or high severity. Organizations and users should deploy the `2026-09-05` Android security patch level or later across supported Pixel devices, prioritizing people and fleets at heightened risk of targeted surveillance.
Sep 18, 2026