A // SAFETY: comment is an argument; tools check whether the argument survives real executions. Use Miri
for undefined behaviour in Rust code, sanitizers for FFI and native code, fuzzing to find the inputs nobody
thought of, loom for lock-free concurrency, and lints to keep the documentation honest.
Contents
- Which tool finds what
- Miri
- Sanitizers
- Fuzzing with cargo-fuzz
- loom for concurrent code
- Kani and cargo-careful
- Lints
- Measuring unsafe surface
- Testing a safe abstraction
- A CI pipeline
Which tool finds what
| Problem | Tool | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Aliasing violations (&mut while shared), use-after-free, out-of-bounds, invalid values, uninitialised reads, misalignment, data races | Miri | interprets MIR; slow; no FFI |
| Memory errors in code that calls C (and in C itself) | AddressSanitizer | nightly -Zsanitizer=address |
| Data races across threads (including C) | ThreadSanitizer | nightly; build std with it |
| Uninitialised reads reaching branches | MemorySanitizer | nightly; build std with it |
| Inputs that break parsers / decoders | cargo-fuzz (libFuzzer) | combine with ASan (default) |
| Wrong orderings in atomics / lock-free code | loom | explores thread interleavings |
| Proof for all inputs of a bounded harness | Kani | model checker |
| Missing SAFETY docs, risky patterns | clippy, rustc lints, the scanners in scripts/ | static |
Miri
rustup +nightly component add miri
cargo +nightly miri test # run the test suite under Miri
cargo +nightly miri run # run the binary
MIRIFLAGS="-Zmiri-tree-borrows" cargo +nightly miri test # Tree Borrows instead of Stacked Borrows
MIRIFLAGS="-Zmiri-strict-provenance" cargo +nightly miri test
MIRIFLAGS="-Zmiri-many-seeds=0..16" cargo +nightly miri test # several schedules / allocation seedsPractical notes:
- Miri reports the first UB it hits with a backtrace and the violated rule ("attempting a read access using
... but that tag does not exist in the borrow stack"). - Stacked Borrows is the default model; Tree Borrows is newer and accepts some patterns Stacked Borrows rejects. Code that passes both is on solid ground.
- Miri cannot call foreign (C) functions. Put FFI behind a trait or
#[cfg(not(miri))]and test the Rust side with a fake. - It is slow: shrink inputs under
cfg!(miri)(let n = if cfg!(miri) { 10 } else { 10_000 };) and skip heavy tests with#[cfg_attr(miri, ignore)]. -Zmiri-disable-isolationlets the program read the clock, env and filesystem.- Leaks are reported at exit;
-Zmiri-ignore-leakssilences them when intentional (Box::leak).
Sanitizers
# AddressSanitizer: out-of-bounds, use-after-free, double free (Linux/macOS, nightly)
RUSTFLAGS="-Zsanitizer=address" RUSTDOCFLAGS="-Zsanitizer=address" \
cargo +nightly test --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
# ThreadSanitizer: data races; instrument std too for accurate results
RUSTFLAGS="-Zsanitizer=thread" cargo +nightly test -Zbuild-std --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu- Always pass an explicit
--target, so build scripts and proc macros are not instrumented. - C/C++ code linked in must be built with the same sanitizer (
-fsanitize=address) to be checked. - MemorySanitizer needs every dependency (including std and C code) instrumented; it is the hardest to set up.
Fuzzing with cargo-fuzz
cargo install cargo-fuzz
cargo fuzz init # creates fuzz/ with a libfuzzer-sys crate
cargo fuzz add parse_record
cargo +nightly fuzz run parse_record -- -max_total_time=300// fuzz/fuzz_targets/parse_record.rs
#![no_main]
use libfuzzer_sys::fuzz_target;
fuzz_target!(|data: &[u8]| {
// Must never panic or trigger UB for any input; ASan is on by default.
let _ = mycrate::parse_record(data);
});Fuzz every function whose unsafe code depends on input (lengths, offsets, tags read from bytes). Keep the
crash inputs in fuzz/artifacts/ as regression tests; derive arbitrary::Arbitrary for structured input.
loom for concurrent code
// Cargo.toml: [target.'cfg(loom)'.dev-dependencies] loom = "0.7"
#[cfg(loom)]
use loom::sync::{atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering}, Arc};
#[cfg(loom)]
use loom::thread;
#[cfg(loom)]
#[test]
fn two_increments_are_seen() {
loom::model(|| {
let n = Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(0));
let n2 = n.clone();
let t = thread::spawn(move || n2.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Release));
n.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Release);
t.join().unwrap();
assert_eq!(n.load(Ordering::Acquire), 2);
});
}Run with RUSTFLAGS="--cfg loom" cargo test --release. loom explores every interleaving (bounded), so keep
models tiny: two or three threads, a few operations.
Kani and cargo-careful
- Kani (
cargo kani): bounded model checking; write#[kani::proof]harnesses withkani::any()inputs to prove a function never panics, overflows or performs UB for all inputs within the bounds. - cargo-careful (
cargo +nightly careful test): runs tests against a std built with debug assertions, catching precondition violations inget_unchecked,from_raw_parts,copy_nonoverlappingand others without Miri's slowdown.
Lints
| Lint | Where | Catches (script rule) |
|---|---|---|
unsafe_code | rustc (allow) | any unsafe; #![forbid(unsafe_code)] for crates that need none (US026) |
unsafe_op_in_unsafe_fn | rustc (warn in 2024) | unsafe ops in an unsafe fn without an explicit block (US027) |
static_mut_refs | rustc (deny in 2024) | references to static mut (US009) |
missing_unsafe_on_extern, unsafe_attr_outside_unsafe | rustc (2024 migration) | US019, US020 |
deprecated_safe_2024 | rustc (2024 migration) | env::set_var and friends (US021) |
invalid_value | rustc (warn) | mem::zeroed/uninitialized for types with invalid all-zero values (US004, US005) |
clippy::undocumented_unsafe_blocks | clippy (restriction) | US001 (US028 checks it is on) |
clippy::missing_safety_doc | clippy (style, warn) | US002 |
clippy::multiple_unsafe_ops_per_block | clippy (restriction) | blocks doing several unsafe things (US018) |
clippy::not_unsafe_ptr_arg_deref | clippy (correctness) | US023 |
clippy::mut_from_ref | clippy (correctness) | US024 |
clippy::uninit_assumed_init, clippy::uninit_vec | clippy (correctness) | US006, US007 |
clippy::transmute_ptr_to_ref, clippy::transmute_* family | clippy | US003 |
Turn on the restriction lints for crates with unsafe code:
[lints.rust]
unsafe_op_in_unsafe_fn = "deny"
[lints.clippy]
undocumented_unsafe_blocks = "warn"
missing_safety_doc = "warn"
multiple_unsafe_ops_per_block = "warn"Measuring unsafe surface
cargo geigercounts unsafe functions, expressions, impls, traits and methods in your crate and every dependency, marking crates thatforbid(unsafe_code)./tmp/unsafe_inventory src/gives the same picture for your own code with the documentation status of each item, which is what a review needs.- Track the counts over time; new unsafe should arrive with its SAFETY argument and a test.
Testing a safe abstraction
The goal is that no safe code can cause UB through your API. Test the edges a safe caller can reach:
- Empty, full and wrap-around states of buffers; zero-sized types (
Vec<()>); maximum lengths. - Panics in the middle of an operation (a panicking
CloneorDropinsideextend): state must stay valid (no double drop, no exposed uninitialised memory). Use aDropcounter type to check. Send/Syncclaims with compile-time assertions, andcompile_faildoctests for what must not compile.- Run all of it under Miri.
use std::cell::Cell;
/// Counts drops, to prove a container drops every element exactly once.
struct DropCounter<'a>(&'a Cell<usize>);
impl Drop for DropCounter<'_> {
fn drop(&mut self) {
self.0.set(self.0.get() + 1);
}
}
#[test]
fn drops_each_element_once() {
let drops = Cell::new(0);
{
let v = vec![DropCounter(&drops), DropCounter(&drops), DropCounter(&drops)];
let mut it = v.into_iter();
let _first = it.next(); // dropped at end of scope
} // iterator drops the remaining two
assert_eq!(drops.get(), 3);
}A CI pipeline
jobs:
scan:
steps:
- run: |
for t in unsafe_inventory safety_comments ub_patterns risky_calls ffi_and_globals; do
rustc -O --edition 2021 "$SKILL/scripts/$t.rs" -o "/tmp/$t"; done
/tmp/unsafe_inventory src/
/tmp/ub_patterns src/ --strict
/tmp/safety_comments src/ --strict
miri:
steps:
- run: rustup toolchain install nightly --component miri
- run: cargo +nightly miri test
- run: MIRIFLAGS="-Zmiri-tree-borrows" cargo +nightly miri test
asan:
steps:
- run: RUSTFLAGS="-Zsanitizer=address" cargo +nightly test --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
clippy:
steps:
- run: cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D clippy::undocumented_unsafe_blocks -D clippy::missing_safety_docrust-borrow-checker-error-explainer
Explain and fix Rust borrow-checker, ownership, move and lifetime compiler errors: E0382 use of moved value, E0499 cannot borrow as mutable more than once, E0502 also borrowed as immutable, E0505, E0506, E0503, E0507 cannot move out of index/Rc/reference, E0515 return reference to local, E0597 does not live long enough, E0716 temporary value dropped while borrowed, E0373 closure may outlive (spawn needs move), E0521 borrowed data escapes, E0384, E0596, E0594, E0381, E0713, 'lifetime may not live long enough', RefCell 'already borrowed: BorrowMutError' panics. Ranks fixes from restructuring (split borrows, entry API, split_at_mut, get_disjoint_mut, mem::take, Option::take, indices, thread::scope) down to clone and Rc<RefCell>/Arc<Mutex>; never unsafe. Covers NLL limits (get-or-insert), iterator invalidation, closure captures, self-referential structs. Ships std-only Rust triage tools.
rust-cargo-workspace-designer
Design, review and fix Cargo workspaces: when to split a crate (compile time, boundaries, publishing, proc-macros), crates/* vs apps/ + crates/ layouts, virtual manifest vs root package, members/exclude/default-members, resolver 2 vs 3 (MSRV-aware, edition 2024), [workspace.package] and [workspace.dependencies] inheritance, [workspace.lints], root-only profiles (lto, codegen-units), additive features with dep: and weak ?/ syntax, feature unification pitfalls, internal path + version deps, publish = false, Cargo.lock and MSRV policy, xtask, CI with --locked, nextest, rust-cache, sccache, cargo-hack/deny/machete/udeps/semver-checks, and cargo build --timings. Ships a workspace auditor and crate-graph tool.
rust-error-handling-thiserror-anyhow-designer
Design and review Rust error handling with thiserror 2 and anyhow 1: library vs application split, typed error enums with #[from], #[source], #[error(transparent)] and #[non_exhaustive], ErrorKind patterns, context via .context()/.with_context(), bail!/ensure!, source() chains, {:#} and {:?} reports, RUST_BACKTRACE/RUST_LIB_BACKTRACE, Box<dyn Error + Send + Sync>, main -> anyhow::Result or ExitCode, unwrap/expect/panic policy, Option to Result, collecting iterators of Results, axum IntoResponse mapping, retryable errors, tracing, async Send bounds, testing with matches! and downcast_ref, no_std core::error::Error, and snafu, eyre/color-eyre, miette, error-stack.
rust-lifetime-annotation-advisor
Decide when Rust lifetime annotations are needed and which ones: the three elision rules, structs holding references (struct Parser<'a>), owned vs borrowed (String, &str, Cow<'a, str>, Arc<str>), one vs several lifetimes, 'a: 'b bounds, T: 'static misconceptions, Box<dyn Trait + 'a> default object lifetimes, impl Trait + '_ and edition 2024 capture rules with use<..>, variance and PhantomData, HRTB for<'a> Fn(&'a T), GATs and lending iterators, async fn and tokio::spawn 'static, self-referential structs (ouroboros, self_cell, indices, arenas), Rc/Arc to escape lifetime soup. Ships std-only Rust checkers for redundant, missing, unused and over-restrictive lifetimes.
rust-tokio-async-service-builder
Build and review production async Rust services on Tokio 1.x and axum 0.8: runtime choice (#[tokio::main] multi_thread vs current_thread, Builder), axum routing with /{id} paths, State, extractors, IntoResponse error types, axum::serve with_graceful_shutdown, tower/tower-http middleware (TraceLayer, TimeoutLayer, CorsLayer, ConcurrencyLimitLayer, RequestBodyLimitLayer), Arc<AppState>, std vs tokio Mutex, JoinSet, TaskTracker, CancellationToken, select! cancel safety, bounded mpsc, oneshot, broadcast, watch, actors, Semaphore, timeouts, retries, spawn_blocking, sqlx PgPool, reqwest Client reuse, tracing, tests with start_paused and oneshot, Dockerfile. Fixes 'future cannot be sent between threads safely', E0373, Rc or MutexGuard held across await, 'Cannot start a runtime from within a runtime', 'Path segments must not start with :'. Ships std-only Rust scanners and a compiling axum 0.8 scaffold.
rust-trait-design-reviewer
Review and design Rust traits and generic APIs: generics vs impl Trait vs dyn Trait (static vs dynamic dispatch), dyn compatibility / object safety (generic methods, Self returns, where Self: Sized, error[E0038] not dyn compatible / cannot be made into an object), associated types vs generic parameters, blanket impls, coherence and orphan rule (E0117, E0119, E0210), newtype, extension, sealed and marker traits, supertraits and trait upcasting (1.86), async fn in traits (1.75) and the Send bound problem (trait_variant, async-trait), RPITIT, GATs, From/Into/TryFrom/AsRef/Borrow, std trait checklist (Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Hash, Default, Display, Error, Send/Sync, serde feature), #[must_use], #[non_exhaustive], semver hazards, Deref abuse, builders, typestate, PhantomData, Box<dyn Error + Send + Sync>, Fn traits, mockall.