The Hidden Risks of Using Linux in Aviation Systems

This paper provides a rigorous examination of eight fundamental architectural deficiencies that render the Linux kernel unsuitable for deployment in safety-critical avionics. These deficiencies include inadequate temporal determinism, the absence of physical memory isolation, driver-induced contamination of global kernel state, an excessively large and unbounded Trusted Computing Base (TCB), open and nondeterministic system semantics, insufficient inter rocess fault containment, unstable kernel behavior due to continuous patching, and a highly complex toolchain that imposes prohibitive DO-330 qualification burdens. Through a technical and standards-aligned analysis, this paper demonstrates that Linux cannot satisfy the determinism, verifiability, isolation, and lifecycle stability required for airworthiness certification, making it inherently incompatible with certifiable airborne platforms.