Is there an authentic chain of transmission (sanad sahīh) for the hadith attributed to the Prophet (peace be upon him): "Avoid lying, even in jest," and if so, what is this chain?

There is no hadith with the exact wording: "May Allah curse the liar, even if he is jesting." However, there is something close to it. Al-Sakhawi mentioned in "Al-Maqasid al-Hasana" that he did not know of this wording being authentically attributed to the Prophet. In Al-Bukhari's "Al-Adab al-Mufrad," it is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud: "Lying is not permissible, neither in seriousness nor in jest." In "An-Nukhbah al-Bahiyyah fi al-Ahadith al-Makdhoobah" (The Beautiful Selection of Fabricated Hadith), it is stated that the hadith: "May Allah curse the liar, even if he is jesting," is not known from the Sunnah.

What suffices in place of it is what Abu Dawud narrated from Abu Umamah, who said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "I guarantee a house in the outskirts of Paradise for one who abandons disputing even if he is in the right, and a house in the middle of Paradise for one who abandons lying even if he is jesting, and a house in the highest part of Paradise for one who refines his character."

And in Musnad Ahmad, it is narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "A servant does not truly believe until he abandons lying even in jest, and disputing even if he is truthful."