# CVE-2026-16898: IBM i is Affected By Multiple Vulnerabilities in Network Authentication Service

> A local authenticated attacker can change ownership of arbitrary files on IBM i due to improper path validation, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 13 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rfp4-533m-42vc

## What is CVE-2026-16898?

CVE-2026-16898 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Ibm I, published on 13 Aug 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 authenticated attacker to change the ownership of arbitrary files due to improper validation of an attacker-controlled file path.

Weakness: CWE-73 (External Control of File Name or Path)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16898?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm I.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-16898?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-16898 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-16898 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16898 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-2026-16898 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-16898 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Ibm I, published on 13 Aug 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-2026-16898 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-2026-16898/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16898/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-16898
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-16898
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-16898

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16898/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.