# CVE-2026-16826: IBM i is Affected By Multiple Vulnerabilities in Debug Server

> A local attacker can execute arbitrary commands on IBM i systems due to improper neutralization of special elements in the Debug Server.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 10 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q38c-6cwh-cgcx

## What is CVE-2026-16826?

CVE-2026-16826 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Ibm I, published on 4 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM i 7.6, 7.5, 7.4, and 7.3 could allow a local attacker to execute arbitrary commands due to improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16826?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm I.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-16826?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-16826 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-16826 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16826 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Ibm I

- [CVE-2026-96119](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96119/): IBM i is Affected By An Improper Control of Code Generation Vulnerability in HTTP Server Administration GUI (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2026-16860](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16860/): IBM i is Affected By Remote Code Execution Vulnerability [] (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2026-17083](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-17083/): IBM i is Affected By Multiple Vulnerabilities in the Debug Server (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-17218](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-17218/): IBM i is Affected By Remote Code Execution Vulnerability in Line Printer Daemon [] (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-17276](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-17276/): IBM i is Affected By Multiple Vulnerabilities in Navigator for i (critical 9.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-16826 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-16826 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Ibm I, published on 4 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16826 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Ibm I. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16826/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16826/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-16826
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-16826
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-16826

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16826/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.