CVE-2026-97941: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-jvph-rmf4-fgm6
CVSS 7.8
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-97941 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-2026-97941 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-97941
GHSA Identifier GHSA-jvph-rmf4-fgm6
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-2026-97941

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-2026-97941, 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: mm/slab: take n->list_lock in __slab_try_return_freelist() to avoid race Commit ba7425312607 ("mm, slab: add an optimistic __slab_try_return_freelist()") incorrectly assumed that nobody has freed an object to the slab as long as slab->freelist is NULL and cmpxchg succeeds. However, as reported by Hyunwoo Kim [1], other CPUs might have freed an object to the slab, insert the slab to the partial list, then allocated an object from the slab, and be in the middle of removing the slab from the list under n->list_lock. Since __refill_objects_node() puts the slab back on pc.slabs outside n->list_lock, it might insert the slab into that list while the slab is concurrently being removed from n->partial. This led to a list corruption [1]: list_add corruption. next->prev should be prev (ffff888100000248), but was dead000000000122. (next=ffffea000416e410). kernel BUG at lib/list_debug.c:29! Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 1 UID: 65534 PID: 144 Comm: poc Not tainted 7.2.0-16172-gcf72cbb39da8-dirty #1 PREEMPT(lazy) RIP: 0010:__list_add_valid_or_report+0x80/0xd0 ... Call Trace: alloc_from_new_slab+0x183/0x300 ___slab_alloc+0x31c/0x890 __kmalloc_noprof+0x3d4/0x800 lsm_blob_alloc+0x2d/0x50 security_msg_msg_alloc+0x26/0x90 load_msg+0x1aa/0x210 do_msgsnd+0x91/0x800 do_syscall_64+0x109/0x5d0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f ... Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception This is a classic ABA problem where cmpxchg succeeds but the state has changed since __refill_objects_node() took the freelist from the slab. As Vlastimil Babka mentioned [2], it should be rare to return more than one slab (due to the racy read of slab->counters in get_partial_node_bulk()). Therefore, instead of introducing additional complexity, acquire and release n->list_lock twice in the worst case. Return the slab directly to the partial list and hold n->list_lock across the cmpxchg and add_partial(). This is similar to the initial version of commit ba7425312607 [3]. This is enough to avoid the race as the list manipulation is serialized by n->list_lock. While at it, bring back unlikely() hint now that the condition is unlikely.

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-97941?
CVE-2026-97941 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-2026-97941?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-97941?
CVE-2026-97941 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-2026-97941?
CVE-2026-97941 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-97941?
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-jvph-rmf4-fgm6",
  "modified" : "2026-09-25T15:31:44Z",
  "published" : "2026-09-25T12:31:29Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-97941" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nmm/slab: take n->list_lock in __slab_try_return_freelist() to avoid race\n\nCommit ba7425312607 (\"mm, slab: add an optimistic\n__slab_try_return_freelist()\") incorrectly assumed that nobody has freed\nan object to the slab as long as slab->freelist is NULL and cmpxchg\nsucceeds.\n\nHowever, as reported by Hyunwoo Kim [1], other CPUs might have freed\nan object to the slab, insert the slab to the partial list, then\nallocated an object from the slab, and be in the middle of removing\nthe slab from the list under n->list_lock.\n\nSince __refill_objects_node() puts the slab back on pc.slabs\noutside n->list_lock, it might insert the slab into that list while\nthe slab is concurrently being removed from n->partial.\nThis led to a list corruption [1]:\n\n  list_add corruption. next->prev should be prev\n  (ffff888100000248), but was dead000000000122.\n  (next=ffffea000416e410).\n  kernel BUG at lib/list_debug.c:29!\n  Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI\n  CPU: 1 UID: 65534 PID: 144 Comm: poc Not tainted\n  7.2.0-16172-gcf72cbb39da8-dirty #1 PREEMPT(lazy)\n  RIP: 0010:__list_add_valid_or_report+0x80/0xd0\n  ...\n  Call Trace:\n   alloc_from_new_slab+0x183/0x300\n   ___slab_alloc+0x31c/0x890\n   __kmalloc_noprof+0x3d4/0x800\n   lsm_blob_alloc+0x2d/0x50\n   security_msg_msg_alloc+0x26/0x90\n   load_msg+0x1aa/0x210\n   do_msgsnd+0x91/0x800\n   do_syscall_64+0x109/0x5d0\n   entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n  ...\n  Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception\n\nThis is a classic ABA problem where cmpxchg succeeds but the state has\nchanged since __refill_objects_node() took the freelist from the slab.\n\nAs Vlastimil Babka mentioned [2], it should be rare to return more than\none slab (due to the racy read of slab->counters in\nget_partial_node_bulk()). Therefore, instead of introducing additional\ncomplexity, acquire and release n->list_lock twice in the worst case.\n\nReturn the slab directly to the partial list and hold n->list_lock\nacross the cmpxchg and add_partial(). This is similar to the initial\nversion of commit ba7425312607 [3]. This is enough to avoid the race as\nthe list manipulation is serialized by n->list_lock. While at it,\nbring back unlikely() hint now that the condition is unlikely.",
  "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-2026-97941"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4a724bcf5d703e18957397914d79156fa2cf1174"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/570a6aaf6b52c6ec098f4811cdb52b1496f13d15"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-09-25T11:17:21Z"
  }
}