Linux 7.4 drops ARM64 big-endian support after year-long broken status
Linux 7.4 removes ARM64 big-endian kernel build support, which had been marked BROKEN since September 2025 due to lack of users and maintenance.
Summary
The ARM64 merge window for Linux 7.4 includes the removal of big-endian kernel support for 64-bit ARM. The CPU_BIG_ENDIAN Kconfig option was marked BROKEN in September 2025 because such configurations were 'vanishingly rare' and lacked developer interest or testing. Huawei had been one of the few known users in telecom hardware years ago, but provided no ongoing maintenance. The cleanup removes fewer than 500 lines of code, reducing the testing burden for future ARM64 kernel development.
What the ARM64 BE removal changes
- CPU_BIG_ENDIAN Kconfig option for ARM64 is being deleted entirely, not merely disabled
- Less than 500 lines of ARM64 kernel code removed
- Code had been marked BROKEN since September 2025 (~13 months)
- One known historical user: Huawei telecom hardware, with no ongoing maintenance contribution
- Same ARM64 merge window adds NVIDIA Rigel CPU support and BBML3 capabilities as successor to NVIDIA Vera
Why it matters
The removal narrows ARM64 Linux to little-endian-only, aligning with the overwhelming majority of production deployments. For the small embedded or legacy telecom niche that might have used big-endian ARM64, this forces migration or kernel fork maintenance.
Original reference: www.phoronix.com →