CVE-2026-16989 Vulnerabilities in IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS

High 7.1 Published 20 Aug 2026 Updated 22 Aug 2026

Local attackers can gain elevated privileges on IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS systems by exploiting improper symbolic link resolution.

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

What is CVE-2026-16989?

CVE-2026-16989 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Ibm Aix, published on 20 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 local attacker to gain elevated privileges due to improper resolution of symbolic links.

Weakness: CWE-59

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16989?

It affects 2 products.

Products include Ibm Aix, Ibm Vios.

How do I fix CVE-2026-16989?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-16989 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2026-16989 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16989 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Ibm Aix vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-fx8v-x5f2-72jq.