# CVE-2026-45902: power: supply: bq256xx: Fix use-after-free in power_supply_changed()

> A race condition in the bq256xx power supply driver allows a use-after-free, potentially causing system crashes or memory corruption.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 May 2026
- **Updated:** 27 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-45902, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-45902, GHSA-h63c-9r2v-9cmw, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-45902, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-45902, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45902

## What is CVE-2026-45902?

CVE-2026-45902 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

power: supply: bq256xx: Fix use-after-free in power_supply_changed()

Using the `devm_` variant for requesting IRQ _before_ the `devm_`
variant for allocating/registering the `power_supply` handle, means that
the `power_supply` handle will be deallocated/unregistered _before_ the
interrupt handler (since `devm_` naturally deallocates in reverse
allocation order). This means that during removal, there is a race
condition where an interrupt can fire just _after_ the `power_supply`
handle has been freed, *but* just _before_ the corresponding
unregistration of the IRQ handler has run.

This will lead to the IRQ handler calling `power_supply_changed()` with
a freed `power_supply` handle. Which usually crashes the system or
otherwise silently corrupts the memory...

Note that there is a similar situation which can also happen during
`probe()`; the possibility of an interrupt firing _before_ registering
the `power_supply` handle. This would then lead to the nasty situation
of using the `power_supply` handle *uninitialized* in
`power_supply_changed()`.

Fix this racy use-after-free by making sure the IRQ is requested _after_
the registration of the `power_supply` handle.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-45902?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-45902?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-45902 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-45902 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-45902 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-45902 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-45902 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45902/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45902/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-45902
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45902
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-45902

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45902/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.