ReviewCritical

CVE-2026-16839

IBM AIX, PowerVM VIOS

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information due to an integer underflow in the IPv4 IP-options parser.

CVSS
9.4
EPSS
0.39%
31.6% percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Published
2026.08.20
PRIORITY ASSESSMENT

Review

The CVSS severity warrants an early asset and exposure review.

Known exploitationNot established by KEV
Exploit probability0.39%
Technical severityCVSS 9.4

Vulnerability overview

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information due to an integer underflow in the IPv4 IP-options parser.

Affected product and versions

Product
IBM AIX, PowerVM VIOS
Affected versions
>= 7.2, >= 7.3, >= 4.1
Fixed versions
No verified fixed-version field is available yet

Recommended response sequence

Confirm exposure before applying a vendor-supported change.

Full remediation guide
  1. 1
    Identify

    Confirm that IBM AIX, PowerVM VIOS and an affected version are present.

  2. 2
    Prioritize

    Combine exploitation signals with asset exposure and business criticality.

  3. 3
    Remediate

    Follow the vendor advisory or supported update path and preserve rollback options.

  4. 4
    Verify

    Recheck the version, service health, access paths, and relevant logs.

Technical data

CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H
CWE
CWE-125