# CVE-2026-63798: irqchip/imgpdc: Fix resource leak, add missing chained handler cleanup on remove

> A resource leak in the Linux kernel imgpdc driver causes use-after-free errors on removal, leading to kernel crashes and denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 19 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-63798, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-63798, GHSA-2332-q5fp-53mf, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-63798, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-63798, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-63798

## What is CVE-2026-63798?

CVE-2026-63798 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 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:

irqchip/imgpdc: Fix resource leak, add missing chained handler cleanup on remove

The driver allocates domain generic chips using
irq_alloc_domain_generic_chips() during probe and sets up chained
handlers using irq_set_chained_handler_and_data(). However, on driver
removal, the generic chips are not freed and the chained handlers are
not removed.

The generic chips remain on the global gc_list and may later be accessed by
generic interrupt chip suspend, resume, or shutdown callbacks after the
driver has been removed, potentially resulting in a use-after-free and
kernel crash.

The chained handlers that were installed in probe for peripheral and
syswake interrupts are also left dangling, which can lead to spurious
interrupts accessing freed memory.

Fix these issues by:

  - Setting IRQ_DOMAIN_FLAG_DESTROY_GC flag in domain->flags, so the
    core code automatically removes generic chips when irq_domain_remove()
    is called

  - Clearing all chained handlers with NULL in pdc_intc_remove()

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-63798?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-63798?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-63798 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-63798 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-2026-63798 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-63798 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 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-2026-63798 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-2026-63798/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-63798/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-63798
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-63798
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-63798

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-63798/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.