CVE-2026-16167 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 a denial of service due to improper bounds checking.
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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 10.5.0.22, 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 represents a critical security flaw rooted in improper bounds checking within the application's processing logic. IBM DataPower Gateway serves as an enterprise-grade appliance designed to secure, manage, and accelerate web services and APIs across hybrid cloud environments. It functions as a central point for integrating disparate systems, handling protocol conversions, and enforcing security policies such as authentication, authorization, and encryption. When this software fails to properly validate the length or boundaries of input data structures during processing operations, it creates an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by remote attackers without requiring prior authentication in certain configurations.
The technical nature of this flaw falls squarely under CWE-120, which classifies buffer copy without checking size of input, often leading to a classic buffer overflow scenario, or more broadly under CWE-20 for improper input validation. In the context of DataPower Gateway, an attacker can craft maliciously formatted requests containing oversized payloads or specifically structured data that exceeds the expected limits defined by the application's internal buffers. Because the software does not adequately check these bounds before processing, it may attempt to write data beyond the allocated memory space. This improper handling disrupts the normal flow of execution within the gateway service processes. The result is typically a crash of the affected process or service component responsible for handling the specific request type that triggered the overflow condition.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is primarily characterized by a denial of service, corresponding to ATT&CK technique T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service. By repeatedly sending crafted requests that exploit the bounds checking failure, an attacker can cause the DataPower Gateway instance or its underlying services to become unresponsive or crash entirely. Since these gateways often sit at the perimeter of enterprise networks acting as entry points for critical business applications and APIs, their availability is paramount. A successful exploitation leads to a significant disruption in service availability, preventing legitimate users from accessing backend systems through the gateway. This can result in substantial financial loss, reputational damage, and operational downtime for organizations relying on IBM DataPower Gateway for their integration infrastructure.
While the primary impact described is denial of service, vulnerabilities involving improper bounds checking can sometimes be precursors to more severe exploits if they lead to memory corruption that allows code execution. However, based on current disclosures, the immediate risk is limited to availability impacts. Mitigation strategies must focus on both technical controls and operational procedures. The most effective remediation is to apply the latest software updates or patches provided by IBM for all affected versions listed in the advisory. Organizations should prioritize patching these specific version ranges as soon as possible after verifying compatibility with their existing configurations.
In addition to applying vendor-supplied fixes, defensive measures can be implemented at the network level to mitigate exposure while patches are being deployed. Deploying Web Application Firewalls or API gateways upstream of IBM DataPower Gateway can help filter out maliciously crafted requests that exhibit characteristics typical of buffer overflow attempts, such as unusually large payload sizes or malformed headers. Furthermore, enabling strict logging and monitoring for anomalous traffic patterns targeting the gateway can aid in early detection of exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should also be conducted to identify any other potential weaknesses in the integration architecture that could compound the risk posed by this vulnerability.