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Microsoft is expanding its use of Rust for selected security- and performance-sensitive software, not announcing a rewrite of all Windows or all its C++ code. Company statements describe Rust already in some critical Azure infrastructure, gradual migration of some Windows functionality, and specific work involving Surface drivers and Pluton firmware. Microsoft has not published a company-wide Rust migration deadline or the share of its codebase written in Rust.
Why is Microsoft adopting Rust?
Microsoft’s stated reason is to improve memory safety in software that still needs systems-level performance. In a May 11, 2023 Azure post, Jeffrey Cooperstein, a Partner Software Architect in Azure Security, described Rust as “a modern language designed to compete with the performance C/C++, but with memory safety and thread safety guarantees built into the language.”
Rust’s language features can help prevent certain classes of memory-safety defects, but that does not make software invulnerable or eliminate other kinds of bugs. Microsoft presents Rust as one part of a broader security effort, rather than a fix for every security problem.
The company has also pointed to the scale of the underlying concern. Its November 2025 Secure Future Initiative (SFI) Progress Report says approximately half of Microsoft patches in 2022 and 2023 addressed memory-safety CVEs. That figure describes Microsoft patches in those years; it is not a count of Windows bugs, a Rust effectiveness measurement, or an estimate of vulnerabilities Rust has prevented. Microsoft’s November 2025 SFI Progress Report
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Where Microsoft says it is using or pursuing Rust
| Area | What Microsoft has said | What that establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Azure infrastructure | In May 2023, Microsoft said Rust had already been adopted in some of Azure’s most critical infrastructure components and that adoption was expected to expand. | Reported use at that time and an expectation of growth—not a current inventory or quantified share of Azure services. |
| Windows functionality | In November 2024, Microsoft described gradually moving some functionality from C++ implementation to Rust. | A direction for selected functionality, not a commitment to replace all Windows C++ code. |
| Surface drivers | Microsoft’s November 2025 SFI report describes rewriting Surface Windows drivers in Rust through a Microsoft-led open-source project. | A concrete driver effort; the cited report does not quantify its completion or coverage. |
| Pluton firmware | Microsoft Learn says 2024 AMD and Intel Pluton platforms would start using a Rust-based firmware foundation. | A platform-specific firmware direction, not evidence that all Pluton firmware or device firmware has been converted. |
For Azure, Cooperstein was explicit about the limits and direction of the effort: “While we are not able to rewrite everything in Rust overnight, we’ve already adopted Rust in some of the most critical components of Azure’s infrastructure. We expect our adoption of Rust to expand substantially over time.” Microsoft Azure Blog, May 11, 2023
The Pluton statement concerns the 2024 AMD and Intel platforms described in Microsoft Learn’s Pluton security-processor documentation; it should not be read as a claim about every generation or configuration.
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Is Microsoft rewriting Windows in Rust?
No company statement cited here says Microsoft is rewriting all of Windows in Rust. In a November 19, 2024 post, Microsoft said it was “adopting safer programming languages, gradually moving functionality from C++ implementation to Rust.” The wording describes a gradual change to some functionality, not a whole-operating-system rewrite. Windows Experience Blog, November 19, 2024
The Surface driver work is another specific effort, while the Azure and Pluton examples concern different parts of Microsoft’s technology stack. Taken together, they show selective adoption across several areas—not a published plan to eliminate C or C++ throughout the company.
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How Rust fits into Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative
Microsoft frames safer-language adoption within its Secure Future Initiative, a broader security program organized around Secure by Design, Secure by Default, and Secure Operations. In 2024, CEO Satya Nadella said Microsoft would commit the entirety of the organization to SFI. The Windows team later described adopting safer programming languages as aligned with the initiative. The Official Microsoft Blog, May 3, 2024
A separate SFI staffing figure should not be mistaken for a Rust investment number: a 2024 Windows Experience Blog post, attributing the statement to David Weston, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Enterprise and OS Security, said the equivalent of 34,000 full-time engineers had been focused on SFI’s highest-priority security challenges since its launch. Microsoft presented that as SFI-wide context, not as Rust-specific staffing. Windows Experience Blog, November 19, 2024
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Microsoft has not quantified
The cited public statements establish examples and intent, but leave the overall scale unclear. They do not state what percentage of Microsoft’s code is Rust, provide a company-wide conversion schedule, or say that every C or C++ component will be replaced. The Azure adoption statement dates to May 2023, so it confirms use then and expected expansion, not today’s service-by-service inventory.
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