[igregoryca]

1) Null pointer derefs can sometimes lead to privilege escalation (look up "mapping the zero page", for instance). 2) As I understand it (could be off base), if you're already doing static checking for other memory bugs, eliminating null derefs comes "cheap". In other words, it follows pretty naturally from the systems that provide other memory safety guarantees (such as the famous "borrow checker" employed by Rust).

[immibis]

Both Linux and Windows forbid mapping the zero page.

[iambvk]

Thank you.