CVE-2026-72071: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-c3qx-9jfj-8c4p
Share
CVSS 7.8
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-72071 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-72071 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-72071
GHSA Identifier GHSA-c3qx-9jfj-8c4p
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
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-2026-72071

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-2026-72071, 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: tracing/user_events: Fix use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup() user_event_mm_dup() walks the parent mm's enabler list locklessly under rcu_read_lock() during fork() (from copy_process()); it does not take event_mutex: rcu_read_lock(); list_for_each_entry_rcu(enabler, &old_mm->enablers, mm_enablers_link) enabler->event = user_event_get(orig->event); user_event_enabler_destroy() removes an enabler from that list with list_del_rcu() and then, without waiting for a grace period, drops the enabler's user_event reference with user_event_put() and frees the enabler with kfree(). A reader that loaded the enabler before the list_del_rcu() can still be walking it, which leads to two use-after-frees: - kfree(enabler) frees the enabler while that reader dereferences enabler->event. - user_event_put() may drop the last reference to the user_event, which is then freed (via delayed_destroy_user_event() on a work queue), while the same reader does user_event_get(orig->event) on it. Both are reachable by an unprivileged task that can open user_events_data: one multithreaded process that registers an enabler and then concurrently unregisters it and calls fork() triggers the race. KASAN reports a slab-use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup() during clone(), with a "refcount_t: addition on 0" warning when the user_event is freed. The enabler use-after-free was found first; the user_event one was reported by XIAO WU, and the earlier enabler-only fix did not address it. Defer both the user_event_put() and the kfree(enabler) to a work item queued with queue_rcu_work(), so they run only after an RCU grace period, once all readers walking the enabler list have finished. The put must run in process context because user_event_put() takes event_mutex on the last reference, so a work queue is used rather than call_rcu(). The now-unlocked put lets the locked argument of user_event_enabler_destroy() be removed; all callers are updated.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-72071 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72071
git.kernel.org/stable/c/05b24f68f7... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/05b24f68f78ff3a1ef7f015f7327b35886b741f6
git.kernel.org/stable/c/25acb6711d... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/25acb6711da6fa0382744fa92bd6d42a22c1ae68
git.kernel.org/stable/c/50fd6dd755... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50fd6dd755c6e48a38af2fa4621167eea56829c2
git.kernel.org/stable/c/95400e7039... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/95400e7039cdfeb0b53652d521d766f1698cae95
git.kernel.org/stable/c/b33ac2d399... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b33ac2d39953efb12f598c0dae242c5f644ea669

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-72071?
CVE-2026-72071 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-2026-72071?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-72071?
CVE-2026-72071 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-2026-72071?
CVE-2026-72071 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-72071?
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-c3qx-9jfj-8c4p",
  "modified" : "2026-08-17T06:33:07Z",
  "published" : "2026-08-15T06:32:11Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-72071" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ntracing/user_events: Fix use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup()\n\nuser_event_mm_dup() walks the parent mm's enabler list locklessly under\nrcu_read_lock() during fork() (from copy_process()); it does not take\nevent_mutex:\n\n\trcu_read_lock();\n\tlist_for_each_entry_rcu(enabler, &old_mm->enablers, mm_enablers_link)\n\t\tenabler->event = user_event_get(orig->event);\n\nuser_event_enabler_destroy() removes an enabler from that list with\nlist_del_rcu() and then, without waiting for a grace period, drops the\nenabler's user_event reference with user_event_put() and frees the enabler\nwith kfree(). A reader that loaded the enabler before the list_del_rcu()\ncan still be walking it, which leads to two use-after-frees:\n\n - kfree(enabler) frees the enabler while that reader dereferences\n   enabler->event.\n\n - user_event_put() may drop the last reference to the user_event, which\n   is then freed (via delayed_destroy_user_event() on a work queue), while\n   the same reader does user_event_get(orig->event) on it.\n\nBoth are reachable by an unprivileged task that can open user_events_data:\none multithreaded process that registers an enabler and then concurrently\nunregisters it and calls fork() triggers the race. KASAN reports a\nslab-use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup() during clone(), with a\n\"refcount_t: addition on 0\" warning when the user_event is freed.\n\nThe enabler use-after-free was found first; the user_event one was reported\nby XIAO WU, and the earlier enabler-only fix did not address it.\n\nDefer both the user_event_put() and the kfree(enabler) to a work item\nqueued with queue_rcu_work(), so they run only after an RCU grace period,\nonce all readers walking the enabler list have finished. The put must run\nin process context because user_event_put() takes event_mutex on the last\nreference, so a work queue is used rather than call_rcu(). The now-unlocked\nput lets the locked argument of user_event_enabler_destroy() be removed;\nall callers are updated.",
  "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-2026-72071"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/05b24f68f78ff3a1ef7f015f7327b35886b741f6"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/25acb6711da6fa0382744fa92bd6d42a22c1ae68"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50fd6dd755c6e48a38af2fa4621167eea56829c2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/95400e7039cdfeb0b53652d521d766f1698cae95"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b33ac2d39953efb12f598c0dae242c5f644ea669"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-08-15T06:21:16Z"
  }
}