CVE-2026-98851: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

UNKNOWN
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-95vh-jxqc-h2w9
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Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-98851 is a security vulnerability vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-98851 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-98851
GHSA Identifier GHSA-95vh-jxqc-h2w9
Severity N/A
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-98851

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-2026-98851, 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 General Security Weakness. 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: netfilter: nft_flow_offload: drop flowtable reference on init error path nft_flow_offload_init() bumps the flowtable use count with nft_use_inc() before calling nf_ct_netns_get(). When the latter fails, the error is returned as-is and the reference is leaked. The upper layers do not balance it either: nf_tables_newexpr() clears expr->ops when the expression init callback fails, so the nft_expr_more() iteration in nft_rule_expr_deactivate() and nf_tables_rule_destroy() stops right before the failed expression and its ->destroy callback, which would drop the reference, never runs. Each failed rule addition therefore leaks one flowtable reference and the flowtable can no longer be removed: NFT_MSG_DELFLOWTABLE keeps reporting -EBUSY even though no rule references it. Save the nf_ct_netns_get() return value and undo the nft_use_inc() when it fails, restoring the inc/dec pairing within nft_flow_offload_init() itself.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-98851 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98851
git.kernel.org/stable/c/4cd378423a... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4cd378423a33194a773c267fc58606d28fce95cf
git.kernel.org/stable/c/64ac0cb574... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64ac0cb574c740bf723affb79b646eeba920db6b
git.kernel.org/stable/c/747928b5d4... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/747928b5d4ff8c8de55138a54c13980e4bb88578
git.kernel.org/stable/c/c5f91098ed... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c5f91098edee98c015f78488460a0609e62582a5

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-98851?
CVE-2026-98851 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under General Security Weakness.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-98851?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-98851?
CVE-2026-98851 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-98851?
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
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-95vh-jxqc-h2w9",
  "modified" : "2026-10-18T18:32:06Z",
  "published" : "2026-10-18T18:32:06Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-98851" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnetfilter: nft_flow_offload: drop flowtable reference on init error path\n\nnft_flow_offload_init() bumps the flowtable use count with\nnft_use_inc() before calling nf_ct_netns_get().  When the latter\nfails, the error is returned as-is and the reference is leaked.\n\nThe upper layers do not balance it either: nf_tables_newexpr()\nclears expr->ops when the expression init callback fails, so the\nnft_expr_more() iteration in nft_rule_expr_deactivate() and\nnf_tables_rule_destroy() stops right before the failed expression\nand its ->destroy callback, which would drop the reference, never\nruns.\n\nEach failed rule addition therefore leaks one flowtable reference\nand the flowtable can no longer be removed: NFT_MSG_DELFLOWTABLE\nkeeps reporting -EBUSY even though no rule references it.\n\nSave the nf_ct_netns_get() return value and undo the nft_use_inc()\nwhen it fails, restoring the inc/dec pairing within\nnft_flow_offload_init() itself.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98851"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4cd378423a33194a773c267fc58606d28fce95cf"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64ac0cb574c740bf723affb79b646eeba920db6b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/747928b5d4ff8c8de55138a54c13980e4bb88578"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c5f91098edee98c015f78488460a0609e62582a5"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : null,
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-10-18T16:17:39Z"
  }
}