CVE-2026-53234: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-86vm-vp8g-7929
CVSS 7.8
CWE-416
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-53234 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 any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer..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-2026-53234 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-53234
GHSA Identifier GHSA-86vm-vp8g-7929
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-416: Use After Free
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

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).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-53234

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.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-53234, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze 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

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ibm: emac: Fix use-after-free during device removal The driver was using devm_register_netdev() which causes unregister_netdev() to be deferred until the devres cleanup phase, which runs after emac_remove() returns. This creates a use-after-free window where: 1. emac_remove() is called, which tears down hardware (cancels work, detaches modules, unregisters from MAL) 2. emac_remove() returns 3. devres cleanup runs and finally calls unregister_netdev() During step 3, the network stack might still process packets, triggering emac_irq(), emac_poll(), or other handlers that access now-freed hardware resources (dev->emacp, dev->mal, etc.). Fix this by replacing devm_register_netdev() with manual register_netdev() and calling unregister_netdev() at the beginning of emac_remove(), before any hardware teardown. This ensures the network device is fully stopped and unregistered before hardware resources are released. The change is safe because: - dev->ndev is assigned very early in probe (before any error paths that could bypass emac_remove) - platform_set_drvdata() is only called after successful registration, so emac_remove() only runs for fully registered devices - unregister_netdev() is idempotent and safe to call on any registered device

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-53234?
CVE-2026-53234 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-416: Use After Free.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-53234?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-53234?
CVE-2026-53234 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-53234?
CVE-2026-53234 is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free (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.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-53234?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-86vm-vp8g-7929",
  "modified" : "2026-07-08T21:30:23Z",
  "published" : "2026-06-25T09:31:22Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-53234" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: ibm: emac: Fix use-after-free during device removal\n\nThe driver was using devm_register_netdev() which causes unregister_netdev()\nto be deferred until the devres cleanup phase, which runs after emac_remove()\nreturns. This creates a use-after-free window where:\n\n1. emac_remove() is called, which tears down hardware (cancels work, detaches\n   modules, unregisters from MAL)\n2. emac_remove() returns\n3. devres cleanup runs and finally calls unregister_netdev()\n\nDuring step 3, the network stack might still process packets, triggering\nemac_irq(), emac_poll(), or other handlers that access now-freed hardware\nresources (dev->emacp, dev->mal, etc.).\n\nFix this by replacing devm_register_netdev() with manual register_netdev()\nand calling unregister_netdev() at the beginning of emac_remove(), before\nany hardware teardown. This ensures the network device is fully stopped and\nunregistered before hardware resources are released.\n\nThe change is safe because:\n- dev->ndev is assigned very early in probe (before any error paths that\n  could bypass emac_remove)\n- platform_set_drvdata() is only called after successful registration, so\n  emac_remove() only runs for fully registered devices\n- unregister_netdev() is idempotent and safe to call on any registered device",
  "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-2026-53234"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a0130d682222ae21afc395aead7cd2d87e1a8358"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c09c2e236eef6f59e105f38a30f5439e6ccbcad7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c12584cd6078085d707266be864e7e1cc91d74e3"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cf8e14db93eaecc4c0c58299be3b3183b0e53ed5"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-416" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-06-25T09:16:41Z"
  }
}