CVE-2026-16980

Received Received - Intake

Denial of Service via Symbolic Link Validation 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 improper validation of symbolic links.

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-2026-16980

EUVD

EUVD-2026-63703

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-59	The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended 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 exploiting improper validation of symbolic links. This could lead to system crashes or unavailability.

Impact Analysis

If exploited, this vulnerability could cause your IBM AIX or PowerVM VIOS system to become unresponsive or crash, leading to service disruptions and potential data loss.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability does not directly affect compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, or similar standards as it involves a local denial of service via symbolic link validation failure. Compliance impacts would depend on system-specific configurations and compensating controls rather than the vulnerability itself.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply IBM-provided patches or updates for AIX 7.2, 7.3, and PowerVM VIOS 4.1 to fix the symbolic link validation issue. Monitor IBM security advisories for fixes and restrict local user access to reduce attack surface.

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