CVE-2026-64376

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: firmware_loader: fix device reference leak in firmware_upload_register() firmware_upload_register() -> fw_create_instance() -> device_initialize() After fw_create_instance() succeeds, the lifetime of the embedded struct device is expected to be managed through the device core reference counting, since fw_create_instance() has already called device_initialize(). In firmware_upload_register(), if alloc_lookup_fw_priv() fails after fw_create_instance() succeeds, the code reaches free_fw_sysfs and frees fw_sysfs directly instead of releasing the device reference with put_device(). This may leave the reference count of the embedded struct device unbalanced, resulting in a refcount leak. The issue was identified by a static analysis tool I developed and confirmed by manual review. Fix this by using put_device(fw_dev) in the failure path and letting fw_dev_release() handle the final cleanup, instead of freeing the instance directly from the error path.

CVSS v3 5.5 MEDIUM

5.5^/10

CVSS v3 : MEDIUM

Vector :

Exploitability : 1.8 / Impact : 3.6

Attack Vector LOCAL

Attack Complexity LOW

Privileges Required LOW

User Interaction NONE

Confidentiality Impact NONE

Integrity Impact NONE

Availability Impact HIGH

Scope UNCHANGED

References

Link	Resource
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/15432f19562fdb9199cce6d9fc24db12c71ed574	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2619b47a0c8114eef980a56ade7e3ef4b58eb384	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/46d403da376a8b7c1187193294953816e1a8d7fe	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/517676ec7dfca064e08f94007a4abd21969de0a0	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/896df22ee57648b0c505bd76ddbc6b2341834696	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/92f41769e5fd16bcd9ba97500d0517332e0a5b45	Patch

Configurations

Configuration 1 (hide)

OR	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::

History

No history.

Information

Published : 2026-07-25 10:17

Updated : 2026-09-08 14:21

NVD link : CVE-2026-64376

Mitre link : CVE-2026-64376

CVE.ORG link : CVE-2026-64376

JSON object : View

Products Affected

linux

linux_kernel

CWE

NVD-CWE-Other

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This may leave the reference count of the embedded struct\ndevice unbalanced, resulting in a refcount leak.\n\nThe issue was identified by a static analysis tool I developed and\nconfirmed by manual review. Fix this by using put_device(fw_dev) in the\nfailure path and letting fw_dev_release() handle the final cleanup,\ninstead of freeing the instance directly from the error path."}], "lastModified": "2026-09-08T14:21:55.037", "configurations": [{"nodes": [{"negate": false, "cpeMatch": [{"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "vulnerable": true, "matchCriteriaId": "CFE34378-E34A-4EB8-94FC-23E73A95EB5D", "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.178", "versionStartIncluding": "5.19"}, {"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "vulnerable": true, "matchCriteriaId": "7046B092-F810-4440-ACE6-60218518EECE", "versionEndExcluding": "6.6.145", "versionStartIncluding": "6.2"}, {"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "vulnerable": true, "matchCriteriaId": "38A8100E-2B1A-462F-AEE9-8901B870FEF2", "versionEndExcluding": "6.12.96", "versionStartIncluding": "6.7"}, {"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "vulnerable": true, "matchCriteriaId": "914AE4BC-3D59-4C5A-9DB5-9CE327B429F7", "versionEndExcluding": "6.18.39", "versionStartIncluding": "6.13"}, {"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "vulnerable": true, "matchCriteriaId": "6228DDD6-4557-4AA3-9F43-AB995D471E42", "versionEndExcluding": "7.1.4", "versionStartIncluding": "6.19"}], "operator": "OR"}]}], "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"}