CVE-2026-16997 Vulnerabilities in IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS
A local attacker can execute arbitrary commands and escalate privileges on IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS due to improper privilege management.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-16997?
CVE-2026-16997 is a high-severity vulnerability in Ibm Aix, published on 20 Aug 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a local attacker to execute arbitrary commands due to improper privilege management.
Weakness: CWE-269
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16997?
It affects 2 products.
How do I fix CVE-2026-16997?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-16997 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-16997 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16997 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Ibm Aix
Sources
Also known as GHSA-hv56-c358-xgh8.