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The Qualcomm Crypto Engine (QCE) driver is slated for removal from the Linux kernel mainline after benchmark tests revealed its hardware acceleration is dramatically slower than using the CPU's own cryptographic instructions.
According to analysis covered by Phoronix, the driver was recently found to perform roughly 48 times slower than the Armv8 Cryptographic Extensions on a common AES-256-XTS workload. This discovery has intensified concerns from kernel maintainers, who had already marked the driver as broken and harmful due to a history of bugs and a significant maintenance burden.
The performance data undermines the fundamental purpose of the QCE driver. Rather than offloading cryptographic tasks to improve system efficiency, enabling the driver actively degrades performance, making it a clear net negative for users.
The Linux kernel community operates under a long-standing principle: code that harms users or imposes an undue maintenance burden can be pruned from the mainline. This impending removal demonstrates that principle in action. It also serves as a clear signal to hardware vendors that mainline acceptance is contingent on providing a verified, measurable benefit over existing software solutions. Inclusion in the kernel is not permanent protection.
Distributions and device manufacturers currently using the QCE driver will now face a decision: to maintain a vendor-specific fork, transition to the standard and significantly faster Armv8 crypto path, or disable hardware offload entirely.
The timeline for the final deletion patch will follow the standard kernel review process, but the direction is set. The move highlights a critical lesson for the open-source ecosystem: hardware claims must be rigorously validated against real-world software baselines. Ultimately, it reinforces a core kernel rule—if an accelerator cannot outperform the CPU's native instructions, it does not belong in the mainline.
高通加密引擎（QCE）驅動程式即將從Linux內核主線移除，因基準測試顯示其硬件加速功能明顯慢於使用CPU自身的加密指令。
根據Phoronix報導的分析，該驅動程式在常見的AES-256-XTS工作負載下，表現比Armv8加密擴展指令集慢約48倍。這一發現加劇了內核維護者的擔憂，該驅動程式早前已被標記為存在缺陷且具有危害性，原因是其存在大量錯誤且維護負擔沉重。
性能數據削弱了QCE驅動程式的根本設計目的。與其透過卸載加密任務提升系統效率相反，啟用該驅動程式會主動降低性能，對用戶而言明顯弊大於利。
Linux內核社群遵循一項長期原則：對用戶造成損害或帶來過度維護負擔的代碼，可從主線中移除。此次即將執行的移除行動正是該原則的實踐。同時這也向硬件供應商發出明確信號：要獲得主線接納，必須證實其方案相比現有軟件解決方案具有可衡量的實際效益。納入內核並非永久保障。
目前使用QCE驅動程式的發行版及設備製造商將面臨抉擇：維護供應商專用分支、轉換至標準且顯著更快的Armv8加密路徑，或完全禁用硬件卸載功能。
最終刪除補丁將按標準內核審核流程推進，但方向已定。此舉為開源生態系提供重要借鑑：硬件宣稱必須透過現實軟件基準進行嚴格驗證。這項決策強化了內核的核心規則——若加速器無法超越CPU原生指令的性能，便不應存在於主線之中。