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IBM AIX EUVDEUVD-2026-63634

| CVE-2026-17000 CRITICAL
Improper Authentication (CWE-287)
2026-08-20 ibm GHSA-mqx3-7pm8-6mjp
9.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Reach exposed AIX/VIOS network service
  2. Delivery
    Send crafted unauthenticated request
  3. Exploit
    Bypass authentication check
  4. Execution
    Trigger privileged code path
  5. Persist
    Execute arbitrary code on host
  6. Impact
    Pivot to dependent LPARs

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Authentication mechanism validation
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Defense Evasion, Initial Access

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

Exploitation Conditions

Per the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N), no special conditions are required - remote unauthenticated exploitation is possible against affected IBM AIX 7.2/7.3 and PowerVM VIOS 4.1 systems whose vulnerable network service is reachable by the attacker. The practical limiting factor is network reachability of that service: systems whose management/VIOS interfaces are firewalled to trusted administrative networks are not directly exposed. Additionally, SSVC rates the flaw 'Automatable: no,' suggesting exploitation may require some targeting effort rather than fully automated mass scanning, and only the enumerated versions (AIX 7.2, AIX 7.3, VIOS 4.1) on POWER platforms are affected.

Impact

The signals are largely aligned toward high priority: the CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) describes trivial, unauthenticated, network-reachable exploitation, and SSVC rates Technical Impact as 'total,' consistent with full RCE. However, the signals also contain tension worth flagging: SSVC marks Exploitation as 'none' and Automatable as 'no,' the EPSS probability is only 0.69% (50th percentile), and there is no KEV listing or public POC - so despite the 9.8 score this is a high-potential but not-yet-actively-exploited issue rather than a confirmed mass-exploitation event. The 'Automatable: no' rating slightly tempers the AC:L reading, implying reconnaissance or targeting effort may be required at scale. Given total technical impact against a foundational OS/virtualization layer, defenders should still treat this as urgent and patch promptly even though real-world exploitation has not yet been observed; the low EPSS despite a critical score points to targeted rather than commodity risk today.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker with network access to an exposed AIX or VIOS management/service interface sends crafted requests that exploit the improper authentication flaw, bypassing credential checks to reach a privileged code path and execute arbitrary code on the host. Because the vector is AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N, no valid account or user interaction is needed; a successful hit against a VIOS partition could cascade to the guest LPARs depending on it. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
Patch available 0.7% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv2 – Aug 25, 2026

Remote code execution in IBM AIX 7.2 and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 allows a network-based attacker to run arbitrary code by bypassing authentication (CWE-287). The CVSS 9.8 rating reflects unauthenticated network exploitation with total confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, though there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and it is not listed in CISA KEV. IBM has released a fix, and the moderate EPSS score (0.69%, 50th percentile) suggests exploitation is plausible but not yet widespread.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Aug 20, 2026 - 22:45 CVSS 8.1

Remote code execution in IBM AIX 7.2/7.3 and PowerVM VIOS 4.1 stems from improper authentication (CWE-287) on a network-accessible service, enabling unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code with full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. The CVSS 8.1 score (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) reflects broad impact but elevated attack complexity, indicating exploitation is feasible for capable threat actors though not trivially scriptable. IBM has released a patch; no public exploit code or CISA KEV listing has been identified at time of analysis.

RemediationAI

Apply the IBM-provided fix as the primary remediation - patch details and interim/APAR fixes are published in the IBM Security Bulletin at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7283858 (patch confirmed available per vendor advisory; no exact fix build number is stated in the provided data, so obtain the precise iFix/service pack from that bulletin). Until patching is complete on every AIX 7.2/7.3 and VIOS 4.1 instance, restrict network reachability to the affected service by placing management and VIOS interfaces on isolated administrative VLANs and using firewall/ACL rules to permit access only from trusted management hosts, accepting the trade-off that legitimate remote administration must then originate from those hosts. Prioritize VIOS partitions given their role in serving I/O to multiple LPARs, and monitor authentication logs on these systems for anomalous access while the fix is being rolled out.

Affected VersionsENISA

AIX 7.3
AIX 7.2
PowerVM VIOS 4.1

Affected Packages

euvd aix no fix
euvd powervm_vios no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 2 packages in euvd

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

AIX is IBM's proprietary UNIX operating system running on POWER-architecture servers, and PowerVM VIOS (Virtual I/O Server) is the appliance-style AIX-derived partition that virtualizes storage and networking for LPARs on those systems. The root cause is CWE-287 (Improper Authentication), meaning a network-facing service on these platforms fails to correctly verify an actor's identity, permitting an attacker to reach privileged code paths without valid credentials. The affected CPEs (cpe:2.3:a:ibm:aix and cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powervm_vios) confirm both the base OS and the virtualization appliance share the flawed component; because VIOS underpins I/O for multiple guest partitions, a compromise there has outsized blast radius across a virtualized POWER environment.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (ibm) PRIMARY HIGH
NVD 9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 9.8 CRITICAL

Improper authentication yields unauthenticated network RCE (AV:N/PR:N/UI:N) with total system impact (C/I/A:H); scope unchanged as code runs on the vulnerable host itself.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (ibm).

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

4
Analysis Updated
Aug 25, 2026 - 14:18 vuln.today
v2 - CVSS changed
Severity Changed
Aug 25, 2026 - 14:07 NVD
HIGH CRITICAL
CVSS changed
Aug 25, 2026 - 14:07 NVD
8.1 (HIGH) 9.8 (CRITICAL)
CVE Published
Aug 20, 2026 - 21:48 nvd
HIGH 8.1

DescriptionNVD

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code due to improper authentication.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

IBM AIX 7.2 and 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 contain a critical unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability that permits attackers to gain complete operational control of affected systems without authentication or user interaction. Organizations running these platforms face immediate risk of full system compromise, data theft, and operational disruption if connected to untrusted networks.

Business Impact: Severe
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.7%
Top 50% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
IBM POWER/AIX and VIOS common in enterprise datacenters, not ubiquitous
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 CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.7%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
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
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
Very High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

50
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +49
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.

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