Memory Safety Bugs in Rust Standard Library

Microsoft's FORGE Lab discovered multiple memory safety bugs in Rust's standard library where even safe Rust code can trigger undefined behavior, revealing three patterns of misplaced trust in the underlying unsafe code. The findings are significant because Rust's standard libraries are foundational to billions of devices globally, and bugs here can have widespread consequences beyond their origin. The research highlights a critical gap: while Rust's type system and ownership model prevent many memory-safety issues, the unsafe code underpinning safe APIs can break its safety contract.