CVE-2026-16163 in DataPower Gateway
Summary
by MITRE • 10/08/2026
IBM DataPower Gateway 10.5.0.0 through 10.5.0.22, 10.6.1 through 10.6.6, 10.6.0.0 through 10.6.0.10, and 11.0.0.0 through 11.0.0.2 could allow a remote attacker to cause memory corruption due to an out-of-bounds write.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/08/2026
The vulnerability identified in IBM DataPower Gateway versions ranging from 10.5.0.0 through 10.6.6 and 11.0.0.0 through 11.0.0.2 represents a critical security flaw rooted in improper memory management within the application's core processing logic. This specific issue is classified as an out-of-bounds write, which falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-787: Out-of-Bounds Write. In this context, the software fails to properly validate input data or buffer boundaries before writing information to allocated memory regions. When a remote attacker crafts and sends specially designed requests to the affected DataPower Gateway instance, they can trigger this flawed logic, causing the application to write data beyond the intended limits of its allocated memory space. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows an unauthenticated or authenticated user with network access to interact directly with the underlying system resources without proper authorization checks for such low-level operations.
The operational impact of exploiting this out-of-bounds write can be severe, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution on the affected system. By carefully controlling the data written outside the buffer boundaries, an attacker may overwrite adjacent memory structures that contain critical control information, such as function pointers or return addresses. This manipulation enables the injection and execution of malicious shellcode, effectively granting the attacker full control over the compromised server. Alternatively, if the exploitation does not lead to code execution, it can result in a denial-of-service condition by corrupting essential application data structures, causing the IBM DataPower Gateway process to crash or become unstable. Given that DataPower serves as an API gateway and integration platform handling sensitive enterprise traffic, such instability disrupts critical business operations and compromises the availability of connected services.
From a threat intelligence perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203: Exploitation for Client Execution, where attackers leverage software vulnerabilities to execute malicious code on target systems. The attack vector is remote, meaning it can be exploited over a network without physical access or prior authentication in many configurations, significantly increasing the risk surface. Attackers often utilize automated scanning tools to identify instances of vulnerable IBM DataPower Gateway versions across enterprise networks, targeting them with payloads designed specifically to trigger memory corruption states. The persistence and impact depend heavily on the privileges held by the compromised process, but given that gateway services typically run with elevated permissions to manage network traffic, the potential for lateral movement within an internal network is substantial once initial access is gained through this flaw.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate patching as the primary defense mechanism. IBM has released updates and patches addressing these specific version ranges, and administrators should apply the latest available fix to bring their environments up to a secure baseline. In addition to software remediation, organizations should implement network-level controls such as Web Application Firewalls configured with rulesets capable of detecting anomalous memory-corruption patterns or malformed HTTP requests associated with buffer overflow attempts. Restricting access to the DataPower management interface and API endpoints to trusted IP ranges further reduces the attack surface by limiting exposure to untrusted networks. Continuous monitoring for signs of exploitation, such as unusual process behavior or system crashes, combined with strict input validation practices in any custom integrations deployed on top of the gateway, will enhance overall resilience against this class of memory corruption vulnerabilities.