CVE-2026-53281: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-p9cf-q2gf-35mq
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-53281 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-53281 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-53281
GHSA Identifier GHSA-p9cf-q2gf-35mq
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

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:C/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 Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-53281

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-2026-53281, 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 CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference, where the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null. 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: iommu/vt-d: Avoid NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption Commit 60f030f7418d ("iommu/vt-d: Avoid use of NULL after WARN_ON_ONCE") fixed a NULL pointer dereference in an unlikely situation partly. If dev_pasid is not found in the dev_pasids list, it remains NULL. However, the teardown operations are executed unconditionally, this lead to a NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption. If the domain was never attached to this IOMMU, info will be NULL, which would cause an immediate dereference when checking --info->refcnt. Even if info is not NULL, decrementing the refcount without having removed a valid PASID might unbalance the count. This could lead to premature dropping of the refcount to 0, potentially causing a use-after-free for the remaining active devices sharing the domain. Fix it by returning early if dev_pasid is NULL, before executing the teardown operations. Issue found by AI review and suggested by Kevin Tian. https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260421031347.1408890-1-zhenzhong.duan%40intel.com

References

NVD — CVE-2026-53281 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53281
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2026:47... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:47017
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2026:47... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:47040
Software Security Information SECURITY
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-53281
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2493728
git.kernel.org/stable/c/79ea2feb91... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/79ea2feb917b05366b49d85573c9c5331f043b2c
git.kernel.org/stable/c/9022cb9ac0... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9022cb9ac0c2a72a57fa8ebf92ac74f953ca0153
git.kernel.org/stable/c/cdfe3c9f2c... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cdfe3c9f2c9e28a8651ee463c88ad191ced2f840
Software Security Information SECURITY
https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-53281.json

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-53281?
CVE-2026-53281 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-53281?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-53281?
CVE-2026-53281 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-53281?
CVE-2026-53281 is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference (The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-53281?
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 
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  "id" : "GHSA-p9cf-q2gf-35mq",
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  "published" : "2026-06-26T21:32:16Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-53281" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\niommu/vt-d: Avoid NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption\n\nCommit 60f030f7418d (\"iommu/vt-d: Avoid use of NULL after WARN_ON_ONCE\")\nfixed a NULL pointer dereference in an unlikely situation partly.\n\nIf dev_pasid is not found in the dev_pasids list, it remains NULL.\nHowever, the teardown operations are executed unconditionally, this lead\nto a NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption.\n\nIf the domain was never attached to this IOMMU, info will be NULL, which\nwould cause an immediate dereference when checking --info->refcnt.\n\nEven if info is not NULL, decrementing the refcount without having removed\na valid PASID might unbalance the count. This could lead to premature\ndropping of the refcount to 0, potentially causing a use-after-free for the\nremaining active devices sharing the domain.\n\nFix it by returning early if dev_pasid is NULL, before executing the\nteardown operations.\n\nIssue found by AI review and suggested by Kevin Tian.\nhttps://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260421031347.1408890-1-zhenzhong.duan%40intel.com",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
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