CVE-2026-72170: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-g6rc-qhh9-wvwv
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CVSS 7.8
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-72170 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-2026-72170 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-72170
GHSA Identifier GHSA-g6rc-qhh9-wvwv
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-2026-72170

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-2026-72170, 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: 9p: skip nlink update in cacheless mode to fix WARN_ON v9fs_dec_count() unconditionally calls drop_nlink() on regular files, even when the inode's nlink is already zero. In cacheless mode the client refetches inode metadata from the server (the source of truth) on every operation, so by the time v9fs_remove() returns, the locally cached nlink may already reflect the post-unlink value: 1. Client initiates unlink, server processes it and sets nlink to 0 2. Client refetches inode metadata (nlink=0) before unlink returns 3. Client's v9fs_remove() completes successfully 4. Client calls v9fs_dec_count() which calls drop_nlink() on nlink=0 This race is easily triggered under heavy unlink workloads, such as stress-ng's unlink stressor, producing the following warning: WARNING: fs/inode.c:417 at drop_nlink+0x4c/0xc8 Call trace: drop_nlink+0x4c/0xc8 v9fs_remove+0x1e0/0x250 [9p] v9fs_vfs_unlink+0x20/0x38 [9p] vfs_unlink+0x13c/0x258 ... In cacheless mode the server is authoritative and the inode is on its way out, so locally adjusting nlink buys nothing. Skip v9fs_dec_count() entirely when neither CACHE_META nor CACHE_LOOSE is set, which both avoids the warning and removes a class of nlink races (two concurrent unlinkers observing nlink > 0 and both calling drop_nlink()) that an nlink == 0 guard alone would only narrow rather than close.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-72170 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72170
git.kernel.org/stable/c/4ec4ebe40c... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4ec4ebe40c82cb4c60756732f6593055d010c59c
git.kernel.org/stable/c/574aa0b479... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/574aa0b4799470ac814479f1138d19efe6262255
git.kernel.org/stable/c/6086469f7d... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6086469f7d469549bfd070348b717a6e43736200
git.kernel.org/stable/c/8d610017c9... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8d610017c992de705b304d3d727a6e3a86af6149
git.kernel.org/stable/c/8faccac11e... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8faccac11e1369adddf5d80f4a45af93f13b2e1a
git.kernel.org/stable/c/a5a682b016... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a5a682b016ef5b5384e28f6d652d47a8f8e73d37
git.kernel.org/stable/c/ab257019cb... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ab257019cb72f467b55c95384d99c94e3908b928
git.kernel.org/stable/c/de79c3f364... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de79c3f3643841b8659a71958df7cf2a66bfd409

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-72170?
CVE-2026-72170 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-2026-72170?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-72170?
CVE-2026-72170 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-2026-72170?
CVE-2026-72170 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-72170?
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-g6rc-qhh9-wvwv",
  "modified" : "2026-08-23T15:33:00Z",
  "published" : "2026-08-15T06:32:14Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-72170" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\n9p: skip nlink update in cacheless mode to fix WARN_ON\n\nv9fs_dec_count() unconditionally calls drop_nlink() on regular files,\neven when the inode's nlink is already zero. In cacheless mode the\nclient refetches inode metadata from the server (the source of truth)\non every operation, so by the time v9fs_remove() returns, the locally\ncached nlink may already reflect the post-unlink value:\n\n  1. Client initiates unlink, server processes it and sets nlink to 0\n  2. Client refetches inode metadata (nlink=0) before unlink returns\n  3. Client's v9fs_remove() completes successfully\n  4. Client calls v9fs_dec_count() which calls drop_nlink() on nlink=0\n\nThis race is easily triggered under heavy unlink workloads, such as\nstress-ng's unlink stressor, producing the following warning:\n\n  WARNING: fs/inode.c:417 at drop_nlink+0x4c/0xc8\n  Call trace:\n   drop_nlink+0x4c/0xc8\n   v9fs_remove+0x1e0/0x250 [9p]\n   v9fs_vfs_unlink+0x20/0x38 [9p]\n   vfs_unlink+0x13c/0x258\n   ...\n\nIn cacheless mode the server is authoritative and the inode is on its\nway out, so locally adjusting nlink buys nothing. Skip v9fs_dec_count()\nentirely when neither CACHE_META nor CACHE_LOOSE is set, which both\navoids the warning and removes a class of nlink races (two concurrent\nunlinkers observing nlink > 0 and both calling drop_nlink()) that an\nnlink == 0 guard alone would only narrow rather than close.",
  "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-2026-72170"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4ec4ebe40c82cb4c60756732f6593055d010c59c"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/574aa0b4799470ac814479f1138d19efe6262255"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6086469f7d469549bfd070348b717a6e43736200"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8d610017c992de705b304d3d727a6e3a86af6149"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8faccac11e1369adddf5d80f4a45af93f13b2e1a"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a5a682b016ef5b5384e28f6d652d47a8f8e73d37"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ab257019cb72f467b55c95384d99c94e3908b928"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de79c3f3643841b8659a71958df7cf2a66bfd409"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-08-15T06:21:35Z"
  }
}