# CVE-2026-74329: watchdog: unregister PM notifier on watchdog unregister

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel watchdog subsystem allows local attackers to cause a denial of service or potentially execute code during suspend/resume events.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-74329, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74329, GHSA-qx92-xvvw-qq6q, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74329

## What is CVE-2026-74329?

CVE-2026-74329 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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:

watchdog: unregister PM notifier on watchdog unregister

watchdog_register_device() registers wdd->pm_nb when
WDOG_NO_PING_ON_SUSPEND is set, but watchdog_unregister_device() does not
remove it. This leaves an embedded notifier block on the PM notifier chain
after the watchdog device has been unregistered.

A later suspend/resume notification can then call watchdog_pm_notifier()
with a stale watchdog_device pointer, or at minimum after wdd->wd_data has
been cleared by watchdog_dev_unregister().

Unregister the PM notifier before tearing down the watchdog device.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74329?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74329?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74329 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74329 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74329 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74329 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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-2026-74329 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-74329/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74329/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74329
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74329
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74329

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74329/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.