CVE-2026-17503
Awaiting Analysis Awaiting Analysis - Queue

IBM PowerVM Hypervisor Boot Configuration Integrity Flaw

Publication date: 2026-09-24

Last updated on: 2026-09-24

Assigner: IBM Corporation

Description
IBM PowerVM Hypervisor FW1120.00 through FW1120.01, FW1110.00 through FW1110.31, FW1060.00 through FW1060.81, and FW950.00 through FW950.H3 is affected by a vulnerability in the partition firmware runtime boot configuration. An attacker with root access to a partition can maliciously alter partition nvram, causing the partition to fail to boot. This condition persists until operator intervention — deleting and recreating the partition configuration — to restore normal operation. Successful exploitation results in an integrity and availability impact.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
Percentile:

Meta Information

Published
2026-09-24
Last Modified
2026-09-24
Generated
2026-09-24
AI Q&A
2026-09-24
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-17503
EUVD
EUVD-2026-85889

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 8 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
ibm powervm_hypervisor From fw1120.00 (inc) to fw1120.01 (inc)
ibm powervm_hypervisor From fw1110.00 (inc) to fw1110.31 (inc)
ibm powervm_hypervisor From fw1060.00 (inc) to fw1060.81 (inc)
ibm powervm_hypervisor From fw950.00 (inc) to fw950.h3 (inc)
ibm powervm_hypervisor From FW1120.00 (inc) to FW1120.01 (inc)
ibm powervm_hypervisor From FW1110.00 (inc) to FW1110.31 (inc)
ibm powervm_hypervisor From FW1060.00 (inc) to FW1060.81 (inc)
ibm powervm_hypervisor From FW950.00 (inc) to FW950.H3 (inc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-20 The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.

Attack-Flow Graph

AI Quick Actions

Instant insights powered by AI
Executive Summary

CVE-2026-17503 is a vulnerability in IBM PowerVM Hypervisor firmware affecting partition firmware runtime boot configuration. An attacker with root access to a partition can alter partition NVRAM maliciously, causing the partition to fail booting. This requires operator intervention to fix by deleting and recreating the partition configuration.

Detection Guidance

Detection involves checking the firmware version of PowerVM Hypervisor. Compare installed versions against affected ranges (FW1120.00-FW1120.01, FW1110.00-FW1110.31, FW1060.00-FW1060.81, FW950.00-FW950.H3). Use IBM tools or commands like lsmcode or viosvrcmd to verify firmware levels.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to partition failure to boot, resulting in loss of system availability and potential data integrity issues. It requires high privileges (root access) to exploit and has low attack complexity. Successful exploitation causes persistent disruption until manual recovery steps are taken.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability primarily impacts integrity and availability of IBM PowerVM Hypervisor systems. While not directly tied to GDPR or HIPAA, it could indirectly affect compliance by causing system unavailability or data integrity issues if exploited. Organizations handling regulated data (e.g., health records under HIPAA or personal data under GDPR) may face disruptions or integrity violations if partitions fail to boot due to malicious NVRAM alterations.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest firmware updates specific to your system. For PowerVM Hypervisor FW1110.00-FW1110.31, install FW1110.32(1110_138) or newer. For Power 10 systems, install FW1060.82(1060_189) or newer. Download updates from IBM Fix Central and follow IBM's installation instructions.

Chat Assistant

Ask questions about this CVE
Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2026-17503. Ask me anything about the vulnerability, its impact, or mitigation strategies.
0/70

EPSS Chart