CVE-2026-53109: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-r4jc-xrhv-v4rj
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-416
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-53109 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-416: Use After Free) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-53109 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-53109
GHSA Identifier GHSA-r4jc-xrhv-v4rj
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-416: Use After Free
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-2026-53109

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-2026-53109, 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-416: Use After Free, where the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer. 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: powerpc/pgtable-frag: Fix bad page state in pte_frag_destroy powerpc uses pt_frag_refcount as a reference counter for tracking it's pte and pmd page table fragments. For PTE table, in case of Hash with 64K pagesize, we have 16 fragments of 4K size in one 64K page. Patch series [1] "mm: free retracted page table by RCU" added pte_free_defer() to defer the freeing of PTE tables when retract_page_tables() is called for madvise MADV_COLLAPSE on shmem range. [1]: https://lore.kernel.org/all/7cd843a9-aa80-14f-5eb2-33427363c20@google.com/ pte_free_defer() sets the active flag on the corresponding fragment's folio & calls pte_fragment_free(), which reduces the pt_frag_refcount. When pt_frag_refcount reaches 0 (no active fragment using the folio), it checks if the folio active flag is set, if set, it calls call_rcu to free the folio, it the active flag is unset then it calls pte_free_now(). Now, this can lead to following problem in a corner case... [ 265.351553][ T183] BUG: Bad page state in process a.out pfn:20d62 [ 265.353555][ T183] page: refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x20d62 [ 265.355457][ T183] flags: 0x3ffff800000100(active|node=0|zone=0|lastcpupid=0x7ffff) [ 265.358719][ T183] raw: 003ffff800000100 0000000000000000 5deadbeef0000122 0000000000000000 [ 265.360177][ T183] raw: 0000000000000000 c0000000119caf58 00000000ffffffff 0000000000000000 [ 265.361438][ T183] page dumped because: PAGE_FLAGS_CHECK_AT_FREE flag(s) set [ 265.362572][ T183] Modules linked in: [ 265.364622][ T183] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 183 Comm: a.out Not tainted 6.18.0-rc3-00141-g1ddeaaace7ff-dirty #53 VOLUNTARY [ 265.364785][ T183] Hardware name: IBM pSeries (emulated by qemu) POWER10 (architected) 0x801200 0xf000006 of:SLOF,git-ee03ae pSeries [ 265.364908][ T183] Call Trace: [ 265.364955][ T183] [c000000011e6f7c0] [c000000001cfaa18] dump_stack_lvl+0x130/0x148 (unreliable) [ 265.365202][ T183] [c000000011e6f7f0] [c000000000794758] bad_page+0xb4/0x1c8 [ 265.365384][ T183] [c000000011e6f890] [c00000000079c020] __free_frozen_pages+0x838/0xd08 [ 265.365554][ T183] [c000000011e6f980] [c0000000000a70ac] pte_frag_destroy+0x298/0x310 [ 265.365729][ T183] [c000000011e6fa30] [c0000000000aa764] arch_exit_mmap+0x34/0x218 [ 265.365912][ T183] [c000000011e6fa80] [c000000000751698] exit_mmap+0xb8/0x820 [ 265.366080][ T183] [c000000011e6fc30] [c0000000001b1258] __mmput+0x98/0x300 [ 265.366244][ T183] [c000000011e6fc80] [c0000000001c81f8] do_exit+0x470/0x1508 [ 265.366421][ T183] [c000000011e6fd70] [c0000000001c95e4] do_group_exit+0x88/0x148 [ 265.366602][ T183] [c000000011e6fdc0] [c0000000001c96ec] pid_child_should_wake+0x0/0x178 [ 265.366780][ T183] [c000000011e6fdf0] [c00000000003a270] system_call_exception+0x1b0/0x4e0 [ 265.366958][ T183] [c000000011e6fe50] [c00000000000d05c] system_call_vectored_common+0x15c/0x2ec The bad page state error occurs when such a folio gets freed (with active flag set), from do_exit() path in parallel. ... this can happen when the pte fragment was allocated from this folio, but when all the fragments get freed, the pte_frag_refcount still had some unused fragments. Now, if this process exits, with such folio as it's cached pte_frag in mm->context, then during pte_frag_destroy(), we simply call pagetable_dtor() and pagetable_free(), meaning it doesn't clear the active flag. This, can lead to the above bug. Since we are anyway in do_exit() path, then if the refcount is 0, then I guess it should be ok to simply clear the folio active flag before calling pagetable_dtor() & pagetable_free().

References

NVD — CVE-2026-53109 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53109
git.kernel.org/stable/c/a32db6fca3... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a32db6fca3c74b4eb8bae5470f0680deb4cbac6f
git.kernel.org/stable/c/c8b7106550... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c8b710655012a2993a9567873fb71a8a51f8459c
git.kernel.org/stable/c/fda4d71651... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fda4d71651f71c44b35829d13f3c8bf920032f77

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-53109?
CVE-2026-53109 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-416: Use After Free.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-53109?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-53109?
CVE-2026-53109 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-2026-53109?
CVE-2026-53109 is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free (The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-53109?
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-r4jc-xrhv-v4rj",
  "modified" : "2026-07-23T21:30:35Z",
  "published" : "2026-06-24T18:32:47Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-53109" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\npowerpc/pgtable-frag: Fix bad page state in pte_frag_destroy\n\npowerpc uses pt_frag_refcount as a reference counter for tracking it's\npte and pmd page table fragments. For PTE table, in case of Hash with\n64K pagesize, we have 16 fragments of 4K size in one 64K page.\n\nPatch series [1] \"mm: free retracted page table by RCU\"\nadded pte_free_defer() to defer the freeing of PTE tables when\nretract_page_tables() is called for madvise MADV_COLLAPSE on shmem\nrange.\n[1]: https://lore.kernel.org/all/7cd843a9-aa80-14f-5eb2-33427363c20@google.com/\n\npte_free_defer() sets the active flag on the corresponding fragment's\nfolio & calls pte_fragment_free(), which reduces the pt_frag_refcount.\nWhen pt_frag_refcount reaches 0 (no active fragment using the folio), it\nchecks if the folio active flag is set, if set, it calls call_rcu to\nfree the folio, it the active flag is unset then it calls pte_free_now().\n\nNow, this can lead to following problem in a corner case...\n\n[  265.351553][  T183] BUG: Bad page state in process a.out  pfn:20d62\n[  265.353555][  T183] page: refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x20d62\n[  265.355457][  T183] flags: 0x3ffff800000100(active|node=0|zone=0|lastcpupid=0x7ffff)\n[  265.358719][  T183] raw: 003ffff800000100 0000000000000000 5deadbeef0000122 0000000000000000\n[  265.360177][  T183] raw: 0000000000000000 c0000000119caf58 00000000ffffffff 0000000000000000\n[  265.361438][  T183] page dumped because: PAGE_FLAGS_CHECK_AT_FREE flag(s) set\n[  265.362572][  T183] Modules linked in:\n[  265.364622][  T183] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 183 Comm: a.out Not tainted 6.18.0-rc3-00141-g1ddeaaace7ff-dirty #53 VOLUNTARY\n[  265.364785][  T183] Hardware name: IBM pSeries (emulated by qemu) POWER10 (architected) 0x801200 0xf000006 of:SLOF,git-ee03ae pSeries\n[  265.364908][  T183] Call Trace:\n[  265.364955][  T183] [c000000011e6f7c0] [c000000001cfaa18] dump_stack_lvl+0x130/0x148 (unreliable)\n[  265.365202][  T183] [c000000011e6f7f0] [c000000000794758] bad_page+0xb4/0x1c8\n[  265.365384][  T183] [c000000011e6f890] [c00000000079c020] __free_frozen_pages+0x838/0xd08\n[  265.365554][  T183] [c000000011e6f980] [c0000000000a70ac] pte_frag_destroy+0x298/0x310\n[  265.365729][  T183] [c000000011e6fa30] [c0000000000aa764] arch_exit_mmap+0x34/0x218\n[  265.365912][  T183] [c000000011e6fa80] [c000000000751698] exit_mmap+0xb8/0x820\n[  265.366080][  T183] [c000000011e6fc30] [c0000000001b1258] __mmput+0x98/0x300\n[  265.366244][  T183] [c000000011e6fc80] [c0000000001c81f8] do_exit+0x470/0x1508\n[  265.366421][  T183] [c000000011e6fd70] [c0000000001c95e4] do_group_exit+0x88/0x148\n[  265.366602][  T183] [c000000011e6fdc0] [c0000000001c96ec] pid_child_should_wake+0x0/0x178\n[  265.366780][  T183] [c000000011e6fdf0] [c00000000003a270] system_call_exception+0x1b0/0x4e0\n[  265.366958][  T183] [c000000011e6fe50] [c00000000000d05c] system_call_vectored_common+0x15c/0x2ec\n\nThe bad page state error occurs when such a folio gets freed (with\nactive flag set), from do_exit() path in parallel.\n\n... this can happen when the pte fragment was allocated from this folio,\nbut when all the fragments get freed, the pte_frag_refcount still had some\nunused fragments. Now, if this process exits, with such folio as it's cached\npte_frag in mm->context, then during pte_frag_destroy(), we simply call\npagetable_dtor() and pagetable_free(), meaning it doesn't clear the\nactive flag. This, can lead to the above bug. Since we are anyway in\ndo_exit() path, then if the refcount is 0, then I guess it should be\nok to simply clear the folio active flag before calling pagetable_dtor()\n& pagetable_free().",
  "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-2026-53109"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a32db6fca3c74b4eb8bae5470f0680deb4cbac6f"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c8b710655012a2993a9567873fb71a8a51f8459c"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fda4d71651f71c44b35829d13f3c8bf920032f77"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-416" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-06-24T17:17:25Z"
  }
}