CVE-2026-16928
Received Received - Intake

Heap-based Buffer Overflow in IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS

Publication date: 2026-08-20

Last updated on: 2026-08-20

Assigner: IBM Corporation

Description
IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to cause a denial of service due to a heap-based buffer overflow.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-20
Last Modified
2026-08-20
Generated
2026-08-20
AI Q&A
2026-08-20
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-16928
EUVD
EUVD-2026-63388

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 3 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
ibm aix 7.2
ibm aix 7.3
ibm powervm_vios 4.1

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-122 A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().

Attack-Flow Graph

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Executive Summary

This is a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1. A remote attacker could exploit it to cause a denial of service by sending specially crafted input that overflows a buffer in memory.

Impact Analysis

The vulnerability allows an attacker to crash the affected system, leading to service disruption. Systems running IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3, or PowerVM VIOS 4.1 are at risk of becoming unresponsive or requiring a restart.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to a denial of service due to a heap-based buffer overflow, which may disrupt system availability. For compliance with standards like GDPR or HIPAA, availability is a key requirement. A denial of service could violate these regulations by compromising data accessibility and system integrity.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply IBM-provided patches or updates for AIX 7.2, 7.3, and PowerVM VIOS 4.1 to address the heap-based buffer overflow issue. Monitor IBM security advisories for fixes and restrict remote access to affected systems until patched.

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