CVE-2026-16851 Vulnerabilities in IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS

High 7.4 Published 19 Aug 2026 Updated 20 Aug 2026

A remote attacker can cause a denial of service in IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS due to a use-after-free vulnerability.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2026-16851?

CVE-2026-16851 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Ibm Aix, published on 19 Aug 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to cause a denial of service due to a use-after-free.

Weakness: CWE-416

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16851?

It affects 2 products.

Products include Ibm Aix, Ibm Vios.

How do I fix CVE-2026-16851?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-16851 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.

Is CVE-2026-16851 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16851 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Ibm Aix vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-6rxg-jgxq-pq8f.