mimalloc

• Segfaults when used in LD_PRELOAD
• v2 vs v3.1.x vs v3.0.x
• Depends on cmake
• jemalloc, mimalloc, and rpmalloc are “modern allocators”
• mimalloc is more than 2.5× faster than tcmalloc and jemalloc
• isoalloc uses a global lock
• jemalloc is the default allocator for FreeBSD
• Haiku is considering both rpmalloc and OpenBSD malloc for its libc malloc
• musl allocator malloc-ng is based on hardened_malloc and OpenBSD malloc
• All allocators should be secure by default; having a secure version does not make sense
• Alpaquita, Chimera, eweOS, OpenMandriva and Void all have experimental mimalloc support

References

• https://chimera-linux.org/docs/configuration/musl
• https://dustri.org/b/files/blackalps_2022.pdf
• https://git.alpinelinux.org/aports/tree/community/mimalloc2/APKBUILD
• https://github.com/dolthub/musl
• https://github.com/dolthub/musl/commit/8aec69db0851e6e197e69b8dca8da3344190f6dd
• https://github.com/microsoft/mimalloc/issues/923
• https://github.com/OpenMandrivaAssociation/musl
• https://github.com/zelang-dev/rpmalloc
• https://github.com/OpenMandrivaAssociation/musl/blob/master/import-mimalloc.sh
• https://github.com/OpenMandrivaAssociation/musl/blob/master/musl-1.2.3-mimalloc-glue.patch
• https://github.com/OpenMandrivaAssociation/musl/blob/master/musl.spec
• https://github.com/OpenMandrivaAssociation/musl/commit/275cbeb5d0a4874610d36f92bcf66d932a0fa0ff
• https://github.com/struct/isoalloc/blob/master/SECURITY_COMPARISON.MD
• https://taesoo.kim/pubs/2021/yun:hardsheap-slides.pdf
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linux-testing-alternative-c-memory-allocators-emerson-gomes/
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/testing-alternative-c-memory-allocators-pt-2-musl-mystery-gomes/
• https://www.openwall.com/lists/musl/2020/05/13/1
• https://www.tweag.io/blog/2023-08-10-rust-static-link-with-mimalloc/
• https://jasone.github.io/2025/06/12/jemalloc-postmortem/
• https://github.com/pola-rs/polars/issues/23222
• https://github.com/facebook/jemalloc/wiki/Development-Status