Improving Software Reliability with Rust: Implementation for Enhanced Control Flow Checking Methods

The C language, traditionally used in developing safety-critical systems, often faces memory management issues, leading to potential vulnerabilities. Rust emerges as a safer and secure alternative, aiming to mitigate these risks with its robust memory protection features, making it suitable for producing reliable code in critical environments, such as the automotive industry. This study proposes employing Rust code hardened by Control Flow Checking (CFC) in real-time embedded systems, which software is traditionally developed by Assembly and C languages. The methods have been implemented at the application level, i.e., in the Rust source code, to make them platform-agnostic. A methodology for leveraging the Rust advantages is presented, such as stronger security guarantees and modern features, to implement these methods more effectively. Highlighting a use case in the automotive sector, our research demonstrates the Rust capacity to enhance system reliability through CFC, especially against Random Hardware Faults. Two CFC algorithms from the literature, YACCA, and RACFED, have been implemented in the Rust language to assess their effectiveness, obtaining 46.5% Diagnostic Coverage for the YACCA method and 50.1% for RACFED. The proposed approach is aligned with functional safety standards, showcasing how Rust can balance safety requirements and cost considerations in industries reliant on software solutions for critical functionalities.