The Remote Network Driver Interface Specification (RNDIS) is a Microsoft proprietary protocol used mostly on top of USB.
[1] It provides a virtual Ethernet link to most versions of the Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD operating systems.
[2] The protocol is tightly coupled to Microsoft's programming interfaces and models, most notably the Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), which are alien to operating systems other than Windows.
[7] In 2022 it was suggested that support for RNDIS should be removed from Linux, claiming that is inherently and uncorrectably insecure in the presence of untrusted USB devices.
[8] Although the claims said that Android have removed RNDIS "for years", most if not all Android devices released before 2024, with the exception of Google Pixel 6 and newer, are still using RNDIS in order to keep the driver-free experience with older systems such as Windows 7.