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IBM Power Systems Firmware EUVDEUVD-2026-62684

| CVE-2026-16930 HIGH
Missing Authorization (CWE-862)
2026-08-19 ibm GHSA-rrj2-c3h5-w764
8.2
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: ibm
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Obtain BMC/FSP service account credentials
  2. Delivery
    Authenticate to BMC management interface
  3. Exploit
    Send crafted commands across BMC-to-host interface
  4. Execution
    Bypass missing host-side authorization check
  5. Persist
    Execute arbitrary code on host OS
  6. Impact
    Gain full control of host and all LPARs

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization checks on every request
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the attacker to already hold service account or root-level access to the BMC or FSP management controller of the affected IBM Power system - this is a high-privilege prerequisite that limits the attack surface to authorized operations personnel, compromised management credentials, or attackers who have achieved a prior foothold in the out-of-band management network. The affected firmware versions (FW1120.00, FW1110.00-FW1110.30, FW1060.00-FW1060.80) must be running on the target system. No special non-default configuration beyond having a BMC/FSP (which is standard on all IBM Power Systems) is required. Exploitation is limited by: (1) the PR:H prerequisite - BMC/FSP privileged credentials must be obtained; (2) network or physical access to the BMC management interface; (3) specific vulnerable firmware versions. The attack does not require user interaction on the host side and has no UI:N dependency beyond initial BMC authentication.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.2 with vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H accurately reflects the attack profile: local access to the BMC management plane is required, but once that threshold is crossed, the attack is low-complexity and delivers full CIA impact across the host and all hosted partitions. The PR:H prerequisite is the critical limiting factor - exploitation is gated behind service account or root access to the BMC or FSP, which is typically restricted to data center operations staff, hardware vendors, or attackers who have already compromised a privileged management account. No EPSS score was provided in the input, preventing probabilistic exploitation forecasting. No CISA KEV listing exists, and no public proof-of-concept has been identified, so real-world exploitation risk is presently assessed as theoretical but high-consequence. For organizations running IBM Power infrastructure in sensitive roles - financial services, government, or critical national infrastructure - the blast radius (full host takeover plus all LPARs) justifies urgent remediation regardless of the absence of observed exploitation. No conflicting signals between CVSS and the description were detected; the local attack vector is consistent with the BMC-access prerequisite described.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who has compromised a data center technician's BMC service account - via phishing, credential theft from an IT management system, or insider threat - authenticates to the FSP management interface of an IBM Power server. By sending crafted commands across the BMC-to-host interface that lack proper authorization enforcement, the attacker executes arbitrary code on the host operating system with elevated privileges. With host-level access, all logical partitions (LPARs) running on that physical server - potentially dozens of guest workloads - are fully compromised. No public proof-of-concept has been identified.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 19, 2026

Arbitrary code execution on IBM Power Systems host is achievable by any attacker who already holds service account or root access to the BMC or FSP management controller. The vulnerability resides in the interface layer between the BMC/FSP and the host, where missing authorization checks (CWE-862) allow an authenticated BMC-level principal to cross the trust boundary and execute code with full host-system privileges. All hosted logical partitions are consequently exposed, making this a critical lateral-movement and privilege-escalation path within IBM Power infrastructure. No public exploit code or CISA KEV listing has been identified at time of analysis.

RemediationAI

IBM has released a patch per vendor advisory at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7283217; however, an exact fixed firmware version number was not specified in the available input data. Administrators should consult the advisory directly to obtain the correct target firmware version for their specific system model and apply it via IBM's standard firmware update procedures. As a compensating control where immediate patching is not possible, organizations should restrict BMC/FSP network access to dedicated, isolated out-of-band management networks with strict ACLs, enforce multi-factor authentication and least-privilege access for all BMC/FSP service accounts, audit and rotate BMC credentials, and monitor BMC access logs for anomalous activity. Disabling remote BMC access entirely when not actively needed reduces the attack surface to physical presence only. Note that BMC firmware updates may require a system maintenance window and potentially a host reboot depending on the Power model.

Affected VersionsENISA

Power Systems Firmware FW1060.00 ≤FW1060.80
Power Systems Firmware FW1120.00
Power Systems Firmware FW1110.00 ≤FW1110.30

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

IBM Power Systems use a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) and Flexible Service Processor (FSP) to manage host hardware out-of-band. The BMC/FSP runs a separate firmware stack with privileged access to host interfaces, including hardware control planes. CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) indicates that the firmware interface between BMC/FSP and the host system does not enforce adequate authorization when the BMC side initiates commands toward the host, allowing a BMC-privileged principal to drive host-side code execution. The affected firmware versions are FW1120.00, FW1110.00 through FW1110.30, and FW1060.00 through FW1060.80, as identified by CPE cpe:2.3:a:ibm:power_systems_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*. The scope change (S:C in CVSS) reflects that the exploitation originates in the BMC security domain but impacts the distinct host security domain and all its LPARs.

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Severity by source

Vendor (ibm) PRIMARY 8.2 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 8.2 HIGH

BMC access is a local privileged vector; scope changes to host; full CIA impact across host and all partitions; PR:H reflects mandatory service/root BMC credentials.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H

Primary rating from Vendor (ibm).

CVSS VectorVendor: ibm

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

IBM Power Systems Firmware FW1120.00, FW1110.00 through FW1110.30, and FW1060.00 through FW1060.80 is affected by a vulnerability in the interface between the BMC/FSP and the host system. An attacker with service account or root access to the BMC/FSP can execute arbitrary code on the host system, giving full control over the host system and all hosted partitions, resulting in a confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2026-16930 enables arbitrary code execution across all hosted logical partitions on IBM Power Systems when an attacker gains BMC/FSP management controller access, creating a direct lateral-movement path from infrastructure services into production workloads. Any compromise of BMC service accounts or administrative credentials can escalate to full host-system privileges, exposing the organization's entire Power Systems environment to attackers already inside the management layer. With a patch available, immediate deployment is critical to close this privilege-escalation channel.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 98% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
enterprise-class IBM Power servers widely used in banking and government
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

41
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +41
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

CVE-2026-16835 CRITICAL
9.6 Aug 19

Authentication bypass in IBM Power Systems Firmware (FW1120.00, FW1110.00-FW1110.30, FW1060.00-FW1060.80, FW950.00-FW950

CVE-2026-16687 CRITICAL
9.6 Aug 19

Remote code execution in IBM Power Systems Firmware (FW1120.00, FW1110.00-FW1110.30, FW1060.00-FW1060.80, FW950.00-FW950

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Cross-site request forgery in IBM Power Systems Firmware's ASMI web interface allows a network-based attacker to silentl

CVE-2026-16933 HIGH
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Full host-system memory access in IBM Power Systems Firmware allows a privileged BMC/FSP attacker to read and write arbi

CVE-2026-17494 HIGH
8.2 Aug 19

Arbitrary code execution on IBM Power Systems host environments is achievable by an attacker with service-level access t

CVE-2026-17429 HIGH
8.1 Aug 19

Full takeover of IBM Power Systems host partitions and all hosted logical partitions (LPARs) is achievable by any actor

CVE-2026-17063 HIGH
7.9 Aug 19

IBM Power Systems Firmware across three firmware branches exposes a privilege escalation path across the BMC/FSP-to-host

CVE-2026-16828 HIGH
7.6 Aug 19

Unauthenticated crash and possible memory corruption in the IBM Power Systems ASMI web interface exposes multiple firmwa

CVE-2026-17042 HIGH
7.3 Aug 19

Memory corruption and persistent denial-of-service in IBM Power Systems Firmware exposes OpenPOWER environments to host-

CVE-2026-16938 MEDIUM
6.9 Aug 19

IBM Power Systems Firmware across four firmware release trains (FW1120.00, FW1110.00-FW1110.30, FW1060.00-FW1060.80, and

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