CVE-2026-72072: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability
HIGHCVE-2026-72072 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-416: Use After Free) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.
CVE-2026-72072 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 7.8
The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
How to Fix CVE-2026-72072
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
mvn dependency:treeHow to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-72072, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:
mvn dependency:treeAnalyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.
Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.
Technical Details
Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free, where the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.
Source Advisory Statement
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-72072?
Which Software versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2026-72072?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-72072?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-72072?
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-72072?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-5679-rjmw-gc7q",
"modified" : "2026-08-17T06:33:08Z",
"published" : "2026-08-15T06:32:11Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-72072" ],
"details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet/mlx5e: macsec: fix use-after-free of metadata_dst on RX SC delete\n\nWhen an offloaded MACsec RX SC is deleted, macsec_del_rxsc_ctx() freed\nthe per-SC metadata_dst with metadata_dst_free(), which kfree()s the\nobject unconditionally and ignores the dst reference count. The RX\ndatapath in mlx5e_macsec_offload_handle_rx_skb() looks up the SC under\nrcu_read_lock() via xa_load(), takes a reference with dst_hold() and\nattaches the dst to the skb with skb_dst_set(). A reader that already\nobtained the rx_sc pointer can race with the delete path and operate on\nfreed memory.\n\nFix the owner side by dropping the reference with dst_release() instead\nof freeing unconditionally, and convert the RX datapath to\ndst_hold_safe() so a reader racing the SC delete cannot attach a dst\nwhose last reference was just dropped; only attach it when a reference\nwas actually taken.\n\nmlx5e_macsec_add_rxsc() also published sc_xarray_element via xa_alloc()\nbefore rx_sc->md_dst was allocated and initialised, so a datapath reader\nthat looked the SC up by fs_id could observe rx_sc with md_dst still\nNULL or, on weakly-ordered architectures, a non-NULL md_dst pointer\nwhose contents were not yet visible. NULL-check the xa_load() result and\nmd_dst on the datapath, and reorder add_rxsc() so the xa_alloc() publish\nhappens only after md_dst is fully initialised; the xarray RCU publish\nthen pairs with the rcu_read_lock()/xa_load() in the datapath.\n\nNote: macsec_del_rxsc_ctx() also kfree()s rx_sc->sc_xarray_element\nwithout an RCU grace period while the same datapath reads it under\nrcu_read_lock(); that is a separate pre-existing issue left to a\nfollow-up patch.\n\nFound by 0sec automated security-research tooling (https://0sec.ai).",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
} ],
"affected" : [ ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72072"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/088873af13590ebde10de2ade847f57a05ec61c6"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/218cc15a4c907659ad4b0e68c535c61594311205"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4a5073b7b30243658f58b2d2d35a823da7fd34d9"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b1a4d0c568bbb52c7c04f4fce3c097dae89ed6cb"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de74d8fd10291763d97b218f09adcc7513c975e4"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ed3cc4218070d6b98bf5fb456dccae424fd38c4f"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-416" ],
"severity" : "HIGH",
"github_reviewed" : false,
"github_reviewed_at" : null,
"nvd_published_at" : "2026-08-15T06:21:16Z"
}
}