Linux Kernel Developers Propose Removing Obsolete ISA and PCMCIA Ethernet Drivers to Reduce Maintenance Burden and Cut 27,000 Lines of Legacy Code

Linux kernel developers are reviewing a proposal to remove obsolete ISA and PCMCIA-era Ethernet drivers from the mainline kernel, citing rising maintenance burden from AI-driven bug reports and fuzzing. The change would cut around 27,000 lines of legacy code that currently provide little to no functional benefit due to lack of active users.

The initiative, led by developer Andrew Lunn, targets network drivers from the ISA and PCMCIA eras, including those for 3com, AMD, SMSC, Cirrus, Fujitsu, Xircom, and 8390 Ethernet devices. These drivers, mostly dating from the last century with a few from 2001 or 2002, are being considered for removal because they are unlikely to have any remaining users running modern kernels on such legacy hardware.

These old drivers have not been much of a maintenance burden until recently. Now there are more newbies using AI and fuzzers finding issues, resulting in more work for maintainers. Fixing these old drivers makes little sense if it is not clear they have users.

Andrew Lunn

The proposal comes as AI-driven bug detection and fuzzing tools have increased the volume of reported issues in older code, many of which may be false positives or lack real-world impact. Maintainers argue that spending time on drivers with no clear user base diverts effort from more relevant kernel development.

This effort aligns with broader trends in the Linux kernel community to deprecate obsolete technologies. Earlier in 2026, similar steps were taken to remove PCMCIA host controller drivers, including i82365, tcic, and i82092, which had seen no meaningful changes since 2022 and were unlikely to be used on real hardware. The i82092 driver, for example, had contained a null pointer dereference bug since 2005 until it was fixed in 2021 — but only in emulated environments, not on physical devices.

If adopted, the removal would reduce the kernel’s codebase by approximately 27.6 kil lines, simplifying maintenance and reducing the attack surface for automated testing tools. Developers emphasize that the changes would be reversible: if future users emerge with actual hardware relying on these drivers, they could be restored by volunteers willing to take on maintenance responsibilities.

As of April 22, 2026, no final decision has been made, and the patches remain under review. The Linux kernel continues its long-standing practice of supporting legacy hardware where justified by active use, but maintainers are increasingly weighing the cost of sustaining code with no demonstrable user base against the benefits of a cleaner, more focused codebase.