Medium 5.5Published Jul 25, 2026

CVE-2026-64376firmware_loader: fix device reference leak in firmware_upload_register()

Updated under an hour ago (Oct 26, 2026, 2:23 PM ET)

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Exploited in the last 30 days

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: 5.5 MEDIUM (v3.1, NVD)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness (CWE): Not given
Known exploited: Not in CISA's KEV catalog
EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days): Not loaded for this CVE
Assigned by: Linux
NVD analysis: Analyzed
Record last updated: Aug 17, 2026
First seen by InfoSec Signals: Oct 9, 2026

Affected products

Affected products

Linux Linux linux:linux (from the name)	from 97730bbb242cde22b7140acd202ffd88823886c9 before 517676ec7dfca064e08f94007a4abd21969de0a0; 97730bbb242cde22b7140acd202ffd88823886c9 builds before 46d403da376a8b7c1187193294953816e1a8d7fe; 97730bbb242cde22b7140acd202ffd88823886c9 builds before 2619b47a0c8114eef980a56ade7e3ef4b58eb384; 97730bbb242cde22b7140acd202ffd88823886c9 builds before 92f41769e5fd16bcd9ba97500d0517332e0a5b45; 97730bbb242cde22b7140acd202ffd88823886c9 builds before 15432f19562fdb9199cce6d9fc24db12c71ed574; 97730bbb242cde22b7140acd202ffd88823886c9 builds before 896df22ee57648b0c505bd76ddbc6b2341834696	CNA record
linux linux_kernel linux:linux_kernel	from 5.19 before 6.1.178; from 6.2 before 6.6.145; from 6.7 before 6.12.96; from 6.13 before 6.18.39; from 6.19 before 7.1.4	NVD

References

References

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

The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry

The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.