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IBM AIX EUVDEUVD-2026-63745

| CVE-2026-18842 HIGH
Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787)
2026-08-20 psirt@us.ibm.com GHSA-949r-65gv-mrq4
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Obtain low-privilege local shell
  2. Delivery
    Trigger vulnerable code path
  3. Exploit
    Corrupt adjacent kernel memory via OOB write
  4. Execution
    Overwrite privilege/credential structures
  5. Impact
    Execute commands as root

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, write limits
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, 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 an existing local session on the target system with at least low-privilege (non-root) user access, consistent with CVSS PR:L. The CVSS attack vector is local (AV:L), meaning remote unauthenticated exploitation is not possible - the attacker must have the ability to execute code on the system, such as through a shell login, a compromised service account, or a cron-executed script. No specific non-default configuration setting or product feature is identified in the description as a prerequisite; the flaw appears present in base installations of affected versions. Exploitation is limited by: (1) requirement for prior local access, (2) SSVC automatable=no indicating the attack cannot be easily scripted at scale across multiple targets, and (3) scope is unchanged (S:U), meaning the impact is confined to the compromised host and does not directly cascade to adjacent systems.

Impact

Despite a CVSS base score of 7.8 and SSVC technical impact rated as total, the overall real-world risk is moderated significantly by the local-only attack vector (AV:L). An attacker must already have an interactive or scripted foothold on the target system as a low-privileged user - remote unauthenticated exploitation is not possible. The EPSS score of 0.17% (6th percentile) corroborates the SSVC finding of exploitation status none, indicating that the security community has not observed active exploitation attempts. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, and no public proof-of-concept has been identified. The SSVC automatable flag is set to no, further reducing the likelihood of broad opportunistic exploitation. The high C/I/A impact metrics in CVSS are credible given that out-of-bounds writes can enable full privilege escalation on the vulnerable host, but these impacts only materialize after local access is obtained. In summary, this is a genuine post-compromise escalation risk for environments running IBM AIX or PowerVM VIOS - not an initial-access vector - and should be prioritized for patching during normal maintenance cycles rather than treated as an emergency.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who has obtained a low-privileged shell on an IBM AIX 7.3 system - for example, via a compromised application account - crafts input or triggers a code path that causes the vulnerable component to write beyond its allocated buffer. The out-of-bounds write corrupts adjacent kernel memory structures, allowing the attacker to redirect execution or modify credential structures to gain root-level access. No public proof-of-concept is known at time of analysis, but the standard-complexity (AC:L) CVSS rating suggests exploitation does not require unusual preconditions beyond local access.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv2 – Aug 25, 2026

Local privilege escalation in IBM AIX 7.2 and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 allows a low-privileged local attacker to gain elevated privileges by exploiting an out-of-bounds write (CWE-787) memory corruption flaw. The vulnerability affects IBM's enterprise Unix operating system and its virtualization platform, with full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact confirmed by the CVSS vector. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis, and EPSS rates the exploitation probability at just 0.17% (6th percentile), consistent with the SSVC assessment of exploitation status as none.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Aug 20, 2026 - 23:00 CVSS 8.4

Local privilege escalation in IBM AIX 7.2 and 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1, is enabled by an out-of-bounds write (CWE-787) in a system-level component accessible to unprivileged local users. An attacker with a local shell - requiring no elevated credentials - can corrupt memory to gain full elevated privileges, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and this CVE does not appear in the CISA KEV catalog.

RemediationAI

The primary remediation is to apply the fix documented in IBM Security Advisory at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7283858 (IBM Support pages node 7283858). Administrators should review that advisory for the specific AIX interim fix (ifix) or Technology Level (TL) update applicable to their AIX 7.2 or 7.3 release, and the corresponding VIOS 4.1 fix package. An exact patched release version is not independently confirmed from the available intelligence; the advisory should be consulted directly. As a compensating control where immediate patching is not possible, restrict interactive login access to AIX and VIOS systems to only named, authorized accounts via PAM configuration and SSH authorized-key restrictions, which limits the pool of potential attackers who could trigger the local vulnerability. Additionally, monitor for unexpected privilege escalation events via AIX audit subsystem (auditcat/auditselect) configured to alert on setuid execution or effective UID changes. Note that these controls reduce exposure but do not eliminate the vulnerability.

Affected VersionsENISA

PowerVM VIOS 4.1
AIX 7.2
AIX 7.3

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

CWE-787 (Out-of-Bounds Write) describes a memory safety defect in which a process writes data beyond the allocated buffer boundary, potentially overwriting adjacent memory structures such as kernel objects, function pointers, or permission flags. On IBM AIX - a UNIX-derived OS running on IBM POWER architecture - such a write in a privileged kernel component or setuid binary could corrupt access-control data structures sufficient to elevate a low-privileged process to root. Affected products per CPE data are IBM AIX (cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix) versions 7.2 and 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS (cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios) version 4.1. PowerVM VIOS is the Virtualization I/O Server that mediates I/O between logical partitions (LPARs) and physical hardware, making privilege escalation on VIOS particularly impactful in multi-tenant LPAR environments.

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.8 HIGH

Local attack vector and low-privilege requirement are confirmed by the description; full C/I/A impact is consistent with kernel-level privilege escalation via memory corruption.

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

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

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

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Analysis Updated
Aug 25, 2026 - 18:45 vuln.today
v2 - CVSS changed
CVSS changed
Aug 25, 2026 - 18:37 NVD
8.4 (HIGH) 7.8 (HIGH)
CVE Published
Aug 20, 2026 - 22:17 nvd
HIGH 8.4

DescriptionNVD

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a local attacker to gain elevated privileges due to an out-of-bounds write.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

IBM AIX 7.2/7.3 and PowerVM VIOS 4.1 contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability allowing low-privileged local users to gain full administrative control. Organizations relying on these enterprise Unix and virtualization platforms face operational and compliance risk if account credentials are compromised. With CVSS 7.8 severity but only 0.2% exploitation probability and no patch available, remediation should prioritize detection and access controls over emergency deployment.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. No public exploit identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: enforce principle of least privilege to minimize accounts capable of triggering the vulnerability; implement privileged access management (PAM) with audit logging for all privilege elevation attempts; restrict local and SSH access using conditional access policies; deploy file integrity monitoring or endpoint detection and response (EDR) to alert on out-of-bounds write exploitation patterns; and plan expedited upgrades to AIX 7.4+ and PowerVM VIOS 4.2+.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 94% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
specialized enterprise UNIX OS, primarily large financial and industrial deployments
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 0.2%
Patch available No
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

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +39
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

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