CVE-2026-16952

Received Received - Intake

Denial of Service 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 local attacker to cause a denial of service due to uncontrolled resource consumption.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
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Meta Information

Published

2026-08-20

Last Modified

2026-08-20

Generated

2026-08-21

AI Q&A

2026-08-21

EPSS Evaluated

N/A

NVD

CVE-2026-16952

EUVD

EUVD-2026-63698

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
ibm	aix	7.2
ibm	aix	7.3
ibm	powervm_vios	4.1

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-400	The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability in IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 allows a local attacker to cause a denial of service by consuming excessive system resources.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability involves uncontrolled resource consumption leading to denial of service. Detection requires monitoring system resource usage and checking for abnormal processes. Use commands like 'top', 'ps aux', or 'vmstat' to identify high CPU or memory usage. Check for IBM AIX or PowerVM VIOS processes consuming excessive resources.

Impact Analysis

It can lead to system slowdowns or crashes, disrupting normal operations and potentially causing data loss or service interruptions.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability causes uncontrolled resource consumption leading to denial of service. It does not directly impact data confidentiality or integrity but may disrupt system availability. Compliance impact depends on system role; availability disruptions could affect operations covered under GDPR or HIPAA if services are interrupted.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply IBM-provided fixes or updates for AIX 7.2, 7.3, and PowerVM VIOS 4.1 to address uncontrolled resource consumption. Monitor system resources for unusual spikes and restrict local access where possible.

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