VDB-389838 · CVE-2026-16898 · GCVE-0-2026-16898

IBM i 7.3/7.4/7.5/7.6 path traversal

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
5.3	$0-$5k	1.01

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as problematic has been discovered in IBM i 7.3/7.4/7.5/7.6. This impacts an unknown function. The manipulation results in path traversal. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-16898. The attack needs to be approached locally. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, was found in IBM i 7.3/7.4/7.5/7.6. Affected is an unknown functionality. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a path traversal vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-22. The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

IBM i 7.6, 7.5, 7.4, and 7.3 could allow a local authenticated attacker to change the ownership of arbitrary files due to improper validation of an attacker-controlled file path.

The advisory is available at ibm.com. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-16898 since 07/24/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. Local access is required to approach this attack. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not available. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/13/2026). This vulnerability is assigned to T1006 by the MITRE ATT&CK project.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

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Productinfo

Vendor

Name

Version

License

commercial

Website

Vendor: https://www.ibm.com/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.3

VulDB Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Temp Score: 5.3
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Path traversal
CWE: CWE-22
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: no mitigation known
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Timelineinfo

07/24/2026 CVE reserved
08/13/2026 +20 days Advisory disclosed
08/13/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/13/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: ibm.com

Advisory: ibm.com
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-16898 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-16898
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-389838

Entryinfo

Created: 08/13/2026 22:28
Changes: 08/13/2026 22:28 (52)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103