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

> A reference counting bug in the Linux kernel firmware loader can cause a memory leak, potentially leading to 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:** 25 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-64376, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-64376, GHSA-vfm9-vf3r-mgwg, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-64376, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-64376

## What is CVE-2026-64376?

CVE-2026-64376 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 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:

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.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-64376?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-64376?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-64376 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-64376 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-2026-64376 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-64376 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 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-2026-64376 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-2026-64376/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64376/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-64376
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64376
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-64376

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64376/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.