CVE-2026-17177 in Db2 Mirror for i
Summary
by MITRE • 08/14/2026
IBM Db2 Mirror for i 7.4, 7.5, and 7.6 could allow a remote attacker to cause a denial of service due to uncontrolled recursion.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/14/2026
This vulnerability affects IBM Db2 Mirror for i versions 7.4, 7.5, and 7.6, presenting a significant security risk that could be exploited by remote attackers to disrupt system operations. The flaw stems from uncontrolled recursion within the database mirroring functionality, which allows malicious actors to craft specially designed requests that trigger infinite recursive calls. When such requests are processed, they cause the system to enter an endless loop of recursive operations that consume excessive computational resources and ultimately lead to system exhaustion.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-674, which describes "Uncontrolled Recursion" as a weakness where a program contains code that can call itself recursively without proper termination conditions or depth limits. This specific implementation flaw exists within the mirroring component of IBM Db2 for i, where the system fails to properly validate or limit recursive operations during database synchronization processes. Attackers can exploit this by sending malformed requests that trigger recursive processing within the mirroring subsystem, causing the application to consume all available CPU cycles and memory resources.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates a severe denial of service condition that can render the entire database mirroring service unavailable to legitimate users. The recursive nature of the flaw means that even a single malicious request can cause cascading failures throughout the system, potentially affecting multiple database instances or mirrored environments. Organizations relying on IBM Db2 Mirror for i for critical data synchronization and backup operations face significant business disruption risks when this vulnerability is exploited.
The attack surface for this vulnerability extends across all network interfaces that accept database connection requests from remote systems, making it particularly dangerous in environments where the mirroring service is exposed to untrusted networks. According to ATT&CK framework category T1499, this represents a denial of service attack technique that can be used to disrupt availability of services and systems. The vulnerability's remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not require physical access or local credentials to cause system disruption, making it an attractive target for automated attack tools.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the relevant IBM security patches and updates as released through IBM Security Advisories. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be configured to limit access to the mirroring service only to trusted administrative systems. Additionally, monitoring should be implemented to detect unusual recursive processing patterns or resource consumption spikes that may indicate exploitation attempts. System administrators should also consider implementing rate limiting and recursion depth controls within their database configurations to provide additional protection layers against similar vulnerabilities.