ReviewHigh

CVE-2026-16873

IBM AIX, PowerVM VIOS, vios

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a local attacker to achieve local privilege escalation due to an out-of-bounds write.

PRIORITY ASSESSMENT

The CVSS severity warrants an early asset and exposure review.

Known exploitationNot established by KEV

Exploit probability0.12%

Technical severityCVSS 7.8

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a local attacker to achieve local privilege escalation due to an out-of-bounds write.

Product: IBM AIX, PowerVM VIOS, vios
Affected versions: >= 7.2, >= 7.3, >= 4.1, >= 4.1.0 < 4.1.0.50, >= 4.1.1.0 < 4.1.1.30, >= 4.1.2.0 < 4.1.2.20, >= 7.2.5 <= 7.2.5.212, >= 7.3.2 <= 7.3.2.5, >= 7.3.3 <= 7.3.3.2, >= 7.3.4 <= 7.3.4.1
Fixed versions: 4.1.0.50, 4.1.1.30, 4.1.2.20

Confirm exposure before applying a vendor-supported change.

1
Identify
Confirm that IBM AIX, PowerVM VIOS, vios and an affected version are present.
2
Prioritize
Combine exploitation signals with asset exposure and business criticality.
3
Remediate
Follow the vendor advisory or supported update path and preserve rollback options.
4
Verify
Recheck the version, service health, access paths, and relevant logs.