CVE-2026-98538: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

UNKNOWN
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-m444-q4wx-jpmh
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Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-98538 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-2026-98538 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-98538
GHSA Identifier GHSA-m444-q4wx-jpmh
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-2026-98538

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-2026-98538, 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: writeback: bound cleanup_offline_cgwb() rescans by rotating scanned inodes cleanup_offline_cgwb() prepares at most WB_MAX_INODES_PER_ISW inodes per call and is called again until the dying wb is drained, but every call walks wb->b_attached and then wb->b_dirty_time from the same end. Inodes already prepared (they stay on the list with I_WB_SWITCH set until the switch worker runs) and inodes that cannot be switched (I_FREEING, I_WILL_FREE, !SB_ACTIVE, DAX, already on the target wb) stay where they are, so each pass rescans a growing run of them under wb->list_lock and a full drain is quadratic in the number of inodes on the list. With ~17M inodes attached to one dying cgwb we saw this end in soft lockups, with CPUs reported stuck for 21-48s. Walk both lists from the oldest end and move every scanned inode to the newest end, so the next pass starts where the previous one stopped and the drain becomes linear. b_attached is unordered, so nobody sees the reorder there. b_dirty_time is ordered by dirtied_when, but the oldest unscanned inode stays at the end move_expired_inodes() picks from, sync takes the whole list regardless of order, and prepared inodes leave the list as soon as the switch work runs and get a new dirtied_time_when on the new wb anyway, so the only inodes left out of order are the ones that can never switch (DAX), and only on the dying wb.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-98538 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98538
git.kernel.org/stable/c/2d1da58c79... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2d1da58c79b66646721a644c6eb4dd1f9c5c9327
git.kernel.org/stable/c/624dd09311... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/624dd0931162523d70f9db8c120b5ec6429a9b97
git.kernel.org/stable/c/9dac137bf7... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9dac137bf77e0683778fb34c86e730c6129e8cb6
git.kernel.org/stable/c/c96b4d1628... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c96b4d1628868e1195da1a896f79e06f350a3187
git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd4b920672... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd4b92067238771b604b59fdda8efed6d70ee823
git.kernel.org/stable/c/f6988c9067... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f6988c90671e83db79df1b7b9d6fdb0e5947fd84

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-98538?
CVE-2026-98538 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-2026-98538?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-98538?
CVE-2026-98538 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-98538?
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-m444-q4wx-jpmh",
  "modified" : "2026-10-18T18:31:53Z",
  "published" : "2026-10-18T18:31:53Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-98538" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwriteback: bound cleanup_offline_cgwb() rescans by rotating scanned inodes\n\ncleanup_offline_cgwb() prepares at most WB_MAX_INODES_PER_ISW inodes\nper call and is called again until the dying wb is drained, but every\ncall walks wb->b_attached and then wb->b_dirty_time from the same end.\nInodes already prepared (they stay on the list with I_WB_SWITCH set\nuntil the switch worker runs) and inodes that cannot be switched\n(I_FREEING, I_WILL_FREE, !SB_ACTIVE, DAX, already on the target wb)\nstay where they are, so each pass rescans a growing run of them under\nwb->list_lock and a full drain is quadratic in the number of inodes on\nthe list. With ~17M inodes attached to one dying cgwb we saw this end\nin soft lockups, with CPUs reported stuck for 21-48s.\n\nWalk both lists from the oldest end and move every scanned inode to\nthe newest end, so the next pass starts where the previous one stopped\nand the drain becomes linear. b_attached is unordered, so nobody sees\nthe reorder there. b_dirty_time is ordered by dirtied_when, but the\noldest unscanned inode stays at the end move_expired_inodes() picks\nfrom, sync takes the whole list regardless of order, and prepared\ninodes leave the list as soon as the switch work runs and get a new\ndirtied_time_when on the new wb anyway, so the only inodes left out of\norder are the ones that can never switch (DAX), and only on the dying\nwb.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98538"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2d1da58c79b66646721a644c6eb4dd1f9c5c9327"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/624dd0931162523d70f9db8c120b5ec6429a9b97"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9dac137bf77e0683778fb34c86e730c6129e8cb6"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c96b4d1628868e1195da1a896f79e06f350a3187"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd4b92067238771b604b59fdda8efed6d70ee823"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f6988c90671e83db79df1b7b9d6fdb0e5947fd84"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : null,
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-10-18T16:17:05Z"
  }
}