Roadmap

Roadmap

AAD-50 is actively developed. This page tracks what has been completed, what is in progress, and what comes next.

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Completed

v1.0 — June 2, 2026

• Initial public release
• Linux CLI reference implementation
• 50-cycle B -> C -> A phase matrix
• Per-cycle Log Page 0x81 SSTAT polling
• SHA-256 tamper-evident audit chain
• PDF Certificate of Destruction
• --dry-run simulation mode
• --force flag for automated pipelines

RFC [#3415] — June 2, 2026

• Opened RFC on linux-nvme/nvme-cli proposing native verification gap fix
• Confirmed fire-and-forget gap with nvme-cli contributor ikegami-t

PR [#3438] — June 9-16, 2026

• ikegami-t opened PR [#3438] implementing --wait and --repeat N
• Keith Busch gave qualified personal approval
• Daniel Wagner merged PR [#3438] into linux-nvme/nvme-cli master — commit 84078fa
• 30 of 31 CI checks passed

v1.1 — June 2026

• Windows CLI implementation
• Windows GUI implementation
• Three-tier USB enclosure passthrough auto-detection
• Tier 1 — NVMe Direct (Log Page 0x81 per cycle)
• Tier 2 — ATA/SCSI SAT passthrough (time-based)
• Tier 3 — Block layer fallback (time-based)
• pathway_used field in every cycle record
• Whitepaper v1.1 published on Zenodo with permanent DOI

nvme-cli v3.0-b.1 — June 26, 2026

• PR [#3438] explicitly listed in official release changelog
• --wait and --repeat flags shipping in a numbered nvme-cli release
• Verification architecture now packageable by Linux distributions

RFC [#308] — CrystalDiskInfo — June 17, 2026

• Opened RFC proposing Log Page 0x81 verification architecture for Windows
• Pending response

RFC [#3] — Eraser — June 25, 2026

• Opened RFC proposing native NVMe Sanitize support with Log Page 0x81 verification
• AAD-50 as reference implementation
• Pending response

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In Progress

Hardware Validation Programme

• Community hardware test reports being collected via Issue [#1] (Windows) and Issue [#2] (Linux)
• Target: results across at least 5 different NVMe manufacturers before USENIX deadline
• Target NAND types: MLC, TLC, QLC
• Target capacities: 256 GB through 4 TB+
• Submit your result: Hardware Test Reports

USENIX FAST '27 Submission

• Target deadline: September 15, 2026 (AoE)
• Format: Short paper, max 6 pages excluding references
• Working title: "Closing the Verification Gap: Hardware-Confirmed NVMe Sanitization and Its Adoption into the Linux Storage Stack"
• Section 4 (nvme-cli merge) is the primary differentiator
• Section 5 (empirical evaluation) requires hardware test data — this is the current priority
• LaTeX formatting: to be completed closer to deadline using USENIX template

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Planned

--cycles N Flag

Allow operators to select a custom cycle count appropriate for their threat model and NAND geometry rather than using the default 50-cycle allocation. The 50-cycle default remains the conservative high-assurance option. Lower cycle counts will be appropriate for most operational contexts.

NDAS Bit Enforcement

Set CDW11 bit 9 (No Deallocate After Sanitize) to 1 in all sanitize commands to prevent lazy physical deallocation by drive firmware. Currently AAD-50 does not explicitly set or verify the NDAS bit. This gap was identified by fzabkar in technical review, June 2026.

Formal IEEE 2883-2022 Evaluation

Formal evaluation against IEEE 2883-2022 — the current international standard for storage device sanitization — has not yet been conducted and represents a necessary step toward regulatory recognition.

Formal NIST SP 800-88 Rev.2 Evaluation

Formal evaluation against NIST SP 800-88 Rev.2 Purge classification requirements. Currently alignment is by design analysis — formal certification is the next step toward enterprise and government procurement recognition.

CrystalDiskInfo Integration

If RFC [#308] is accepted — native Log Page 0x81 sanitize completion verification in CrystalDiskInfo, reaching hundreds of millions of Windows users through a tool already installed on an enormous number of machines worldwide.

Eraser Integration

If RFC [#3] is accepted — native NVMe Sanitize support with Log Page 0x81 verification in Eraser, the long-standing open-source Windows secure deletion tool.

Multi-Drive Pipeline Mode

Automated sanitization of multiple drives in sequence for enterprise ITAD workflows — with per-drive PDF Certificates of Destruction and a consolidated batch audit report.

Standalone Windows Executable

A fully packaged .exe that requires no Python installation — for operators who need to run AAD-50 on machines without a development environment.

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Research

USENIX FAST '27

Short paper submission targeting the Fall 2026 deadline. The nvme-cli merge provides real-world validation that most systems papers cannot offer at submission time. Hardware test data is the remaining gap.

Hardware Anomaly Documentation

Any drive exhibiting unusual behaviour — slow SSTAT reporting, inconsistent cycle completion, SANICAP mismatch — is valuable research data. Document and submit via the issue tracker.

NAND Geometry Empirical Study

The 40-cycle Phase B allocation is a conservative engineering default. Empirical data across MLC, TLC, and QLC NAND geometries and across multiple manufacturers is needed to determine whether the allocation should be revised for specific drive classes.

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Long Term

• Formal submission to NIST for SP 800-88 Rev.2 alignment recognition
• IEEE 2883-2022 certification
• Integration into enterprise ITAD toolchains
• Kernel-level implementation discussion with Linux storage maintainers

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Issue Tracker

All roadmap items are tracked publicly at:
github.com/yonasabeselom/aad50/issues

Open an issue to propose a feature, report a bug, or submit a hardware test report.

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Last updated: June 2026
Maintained by: Yonas Abeselom - yonas_abeselom@protonmail.com
github.com/yonasabeselom/aad50