rust-lang / rust-lang/rust

`static_mut_refs` suggests invalid code in static context

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A-diagnostics C-bug D-invalid-suggestion L-static_mut_refs T-compiler
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

Using the following flags

--force-warn static_mut_refs

this code:

pub static mut ZERO: [u8; 1] = [0];
pub static ZERO_REF: &[u8; 1] = unsafe { &ZERO };
pub static mut OPT_ZERO: Option<u8> = Some(0);

caused the following diagnostics:

    Checking _static_cross_crate v0.1.0 (/tmp/icemaker_global_tempdir.0gE5D6KlClUx/icemaker_clippyfix_tempdir.zqEni6SMBF1V/_static_cross_crate)
warning: creating a shared reference to mutable static
 --> src/lib.rs:2:42
  |
2 | pub static ZERO_REF: &[u8; 1] = unsafe { &ZERO };
  |                                          ^^^^^ shared reference to mutable static
  |
  = note: for more information, see <https://doc.rust-lang.org/edition-guide/rust-2024/static-mut-references.html>
  = note: shared references to mutable statics are dangerous; it's undefined behavior if the static is mutated or if a mutable reference is created for it while the shared reference lives
  = note: requested on the command line with `--force-warn static-mut-refs`
help: use `&raw const` instead to create a raw pointer
  |
2 | pub static ZERO_REF: &[u8; 1] = unsafe { &raw const ZERO };
  |                                           +++++++++

warning: `_static_cross_crate` (lib) generated 1 warning
    Finished `dev` profile [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.46s

However after applying these diagnostics, the resulting code:

pub static mut ZERO: [u8; 1] = [0];
pub static ZERO_REF: &[u8; 1] = unsafe { &raw const ZERO };
pub static mut OPT_ZERO: Option<u8> = Some(0);

no longer compiled:

    Checking _static_cross_crate v0.1.0 (/tmp/icemaker_global_tempdir.0gE5D6KlClUx/icemaker_clippyfix_tempdir.zqEni6SMBF1V/_static_cross_crate)
error[E0308]: mismatched types
 --> src/lib.rs:2:42
  |
2 | pub static ZERO_REF: &[u8; 1] = unsafe { &raw const ZERO };
  |                                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ expected `&[u8; 1]`, found `*const [u8; 1]`
  |
  = note: expected reference `&'static [u8; 1]`
           found raw pointer `*const [u8; 1]`

For more information about this error, try `rustc --explain E0308`.
error: could not compile `_static_cross_crate` (lib test) due to 1 previous error
warning: build failed, waiting for other jobs to finish...
error: could not compile `_static_cross_crate` (lib) due to 1 previous error

Version:

rustc 1.90.0-nightly (f32b23204 2025-07-26)
binary: rustc
commit-hash: f32b23204a0efe2fe8383ed4be1a30b56c1bbf94
commit-date: 2025-07-26
host: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
release: 1.90.0-nightly
LLVM version: 20.1.8

Contributor guide

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First steps

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  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the diagnostic with the src/lib.rs snippet and the reported nightly version. Inspect the static_mut_refs lint's suggestion generation and its expected reference type. Done means the compiler no longer suggests a replacement that fails with E0308, with regression coverage for this case.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

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