Linux 7.4’s driver core pull adds a new kernel taint, TAINT_FORCED_BIND, and the reason is very 2026.
What happened
The sysfs bind/unbind interface lets you attach any device to any driver by bus ID. It has legit uses, but fuzzing tools and bots started binding random drivers to random devices and filing the resulting errors as bugs. Greg KH called it “a major fuzzing ‘attack’ through tools like syzbot… causing loads of unneeded errors and pointless kernel patches to be generated by unsuspecting new developers.”
Now any use of bind/unbind taints the kernel, so maintainers can spot those reports at a glance. The same pull also adds more Rust support for drivers.
My take
AI-driven fuzzing finds real bugs, but it can also bury maintainers in noise. Simple labels like this are how open source protects maintainers’ time.
