CVE-2026-72368: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-h4x8-g6jq-m2w5
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CVSS 7.8
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-72368 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-2026-72368 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-72368
GHSA Identifier GHSA-h4x8-g6jq-m2w5
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-2026-72368

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-2026-72368, 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: cachefiles: Fix double unlock in nomem_d_alloc error path When start_creating() fails and returns -ENOMEM, it has already released the parent directory lock in __start_dirop(): static struct dentry *__start_dirop(...) { ... inode_lock_nested(dir, I_MUTEX_PARENT); dentry = lookup_one_qstr_excl(name, parent, lookup_flags); if (IS_ERR(dentry)) inode_unlock(dir); <-- Lock released on error return dentry; } However, the nomem_d_alloc error path in cachefiles_get_directory() unconditionally calls inode_unlock(d_inode(dir)) again, causing a double unlock that corrupts the rwsem state. This is a leftover from commit 7ab96df840e60 which replaced manual locking with start_creating() but failed to update the nomem_d_alloc path (while correctly updating mkdir_error and lookup_error paths).

References

NVD — CVE-2026-72368 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72368
git.kernel.org/stable/c/26757dac15... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/26757dac15175f2a42e3537f1ba86e62456d48f1
git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c256fba2b... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c256fba2b46020004201c500b2a1fbc707a33ef

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-72368?
CVE-2026-72368 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-2026-72368?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-72368?
CVE-2026-72368 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-2026-72368?
CVE-2026-72368 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-72368?
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-h4x8-g6jq-m2w5",
  "modified" : "2026-08-17T06:33:25Z",
  "published" : "2026-08-15T06:32:21Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-72368" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ncachefiles: Fix double unlock in nomem_d_alloc error path\n\nWhen start_creating() fails and returns -ENOMEM, it has already\nreleased the parent directory lock in __start_dirop():\n\n    static struct dentry *__start_dirop(...)\n    {\n        ...\n        inode_lock_nested(dir, I_MUTEX_PARENT);\n        dentry = lookup_one_qstr_excl(name, parent, lookup_flags);\n        if (IS_ERR(dentry))\n            inode_unlock(dir);  <-- Lock released on error\n        return dentry;\n    }\n\nHowever, the nomem_d_alloc error path in cachefiles_get_directory()\nunconditionally calls inode_unlock(d_inode(dir)) again, causing a\ndouble unlock that corrupts the rwsem state.\n\nThis is a leftover from commit 7ab96df840e60 which replaced manual\nlocking with start_creating() but failed to update the nomem_d_alloc\npath (while correctly updating mkdir_error and lookup_error paths).",
  "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-2026-72368"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/26757dac15175f2a42e3537f1ba86e62456d48f1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c256fba2b46020004201c500b2a1fbc707a33ef"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-08-15T06:22:10Z"
  }
}