CVE-2026-22996: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-r233-7m73-5h45
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-22996 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) 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-2026-22996 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-22996
GHSA Identifier GHSA-r233-7m73-5h45
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

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:N/I:N/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 None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-22996

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-2026-22996, 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: net/mlx5e: Don't store mlx5e_priv in mlx5e_dev devlink priv mlx5e_priv is an unstable structure that can be memset(0) if profile attaching fails, mlx5e_priv in mlx5e_dev devlink private is used to reference the netdev and mdev associated with that struct. Instead, store netdev directly into mlx5e_dev and get mdev from the containing mlx5_adev aux device structure. This fixes a kernel oops in mlx5e_remove when switchdev mode fails due to change profile failure. $ devlink dev eswitch set pci/0000:00:03.0 mode switchdev Error: mlx5_core: Failed setting eswitch to offloads. dmesg: workqueue: Failed to create a rescuer kthread for wq "mlx5e": -EINTR mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1: mlx5e_netdev_init_profile:6214:(pid 37199): mlx5e_priv_init failed, err=-12 mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1 gpu3rdma1: mlx5e_netdev_change_profile: new profile init failed, -12 workqueue: Failed to create a rescuer kthread for wq "mlx5e": -EINTR mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1: mlx5e_netdev_init_profile:6214:(pid 37199): mlx5e_priv_init failed, err=-12 mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1 gpu3rdma1: mlx5e_netdev_change_profile: failed to rollback to orig profile, -12 $ devlink dev reload pci/0000:00:03.0 ==> oops BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000520 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 521 Comm: devlink Not tainted 6.18.0-rc5+ #117 PREEMPT(voluntary) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-2.fc40 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:mlx5e_remove+0x68/0x130 RSP: 0018:ffffc900034838f0 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: ffff88810283c380 RBX: ffff888101874400 RCX: ffffffff826ffc45 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: 0000000000000000 RBP: ffff888102d789c0 R08: ffff8881007137f0 R09: ffff888100264e10 R10: ffffc90003483898 R11: ffffc900034838a0 R12: ffff888100d261a0 R13: ffff888100d261a0 R14: ffff8881018749a0 R15: ffff888101874400 FS: 00007f8565fea740(0000) GS:ffff88856a759000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000520 CR3: 000000010b11a004 CR4: 0000000000370ef0 Call Trace: <TASK> device_release_driver_internal+0x19c/0x200 bus_remove_device+0xc6/0x130 device_del+0x160/0x3d0 ? devl_param_driverinit_value_get+0x2d/0x90 mlx5_detach_device+0x89/0xe0 mlx5_unload_one_devl_locked+0x3a/0x70 mlx5_devlink_reload_down+0xc8/0x220 devlink_reload+0x7d/0x260 devlink_nl_reload_doit+0x45b/0x5a0 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xe8/0x140

References

NVD — CVE-2026-22996 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22996
git.kernel.org/stable/c/123eda2e5b... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/123eda2e5b1638e298e3a66bb1e64a8da92de5e1
git.kernel.org/stable/c/a3d4f87d41... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a3d4f87d41f5140f1cf5c02fce5cdad2637f6244
git.kernel.org/stable/c/dcb2ad755a... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dcb2ad755a16cb0ecd2dc98234d71a6e216ae7fe

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-22996?
CVE-2026-22996 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-2026-22996?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-22996?
CVE-2026-22996 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-22996?
CVE-2026-22996 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-2026-22996?
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-r233-7m73-5h45",
  "modified" : "2026-02-26T18:31:35Z",
  "published" : "2026-01-25T15:30:26Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-22996" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet/mlx5e: Don't store mlx5e_priv in mlx5e_dev devlink priv\n\nmlx5e_priv is an unstable structure that can be memset(0) if profile\nattaching fails, mlx5e_priv in mlx5e_dev devlink private is used to\nreference the netdev and mdev associated with that struct. Instead,\nstore netdev directly into mlx5e_dev and get mdev from the containing\nmlx5_adev aux device structure.\n\nThis fixes a kernel oops in mlx5e_remove when switchdev mode fails due\nto change profile failure.\n\n$ devlink dev eswitch set pci/0000:00:03.0 mode switchdev\nError: mlx5_core: Failed setting eswitch to offloads.\ndmesg:\nworkqueue: Failed to create a rescuer kthread for wq \"mlx5e\": -EINTR\nmlx5_core 0012:03:00.1: mlx5e_netdev_init_profile:6214:(pid 37199): mlx5e_priv_init failed, err=-12\nmlx5_core 0012:03:00.1 gpu3rdma1: mlx5e_netdev_change_profile: new profile init failed, -12\nworkqueue: Failed to create a rescuer kthread for wq \"mlx5e\": -EINTR\nmlx5_core 0012:03:00.1: mlx5e_netdev_init_profile:6214:(pid 37199): mlx5e_priv_init failed, err=-12\nmlx5_core 0012:03:00.1 gpu3rdma1: mlx5e_netdev_change_profile: failed to rollback to orig profile, -12\n\n$ devlink dev reload pci/0000:00:03.0 ==> oops\n\nBUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000520\n #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode\n #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page\nPGD 0 P4D 0\nOops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI\nCPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 521 Comm: devlink Not tainted 6.18.0-rc5+ #117 PREEMPT(voluntary)\nHardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-2.fc40 04/01/2014\nRIP: 0010:mlx5e_remove+0x68/0x130\nRSP: 0018:ffffc900034838f0 EFLAGS: 00010246\nRAX: ffff88810283c380 RBX: ffff888101874400 RCX: ffffffff826ffc45\nRDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: 0000000000000000\nRBP: ffff888102d789c0 R08: ffff8881007137f0 R09: ffff888100264e10\nR10: ffffc90003483898 R11: ffffc900034838a0 R12: ffff888100d261a0\nR13: ffff888100d261a0 R14: ffff8881018749a0 R15: ffff888101874400\nFS:  00007f8565fea740(0000) GS:ffff88856a759000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000\nCS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033\nCR2: 0000000000000520 CR3: 000000010b11a004 CR4: 0000000000370ef0\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n device_release_driver_internal+0x19c/0x200\n bus_remove_device+0xc6/0x130\n device_del+0x160/0x3d0\n ? devl_param_driverinit_value_get+0x2d/0x90\n mlx5_detach_device+0x89/0xe0\n mlx5_unload_one_devl_locked+0x3a/0x70\n mlx5_devlink_reload_down+0xc8/0x220\n devlink_reload+0x7d/0x260\n devlink_nl_reload_doit+0x45b/0x5a0\n genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xe8/0x140",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22996"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/123eda2e5b1638e298e3a66bb1e64a8da92de5e1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a3d4f87d41f5140f1cf5c02fce5cdad2637f6244"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dcb2ad755a16cb0ecd2dc98234d71a6e216ae7fe"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-01-25T15:15:54Z"
  }
}