IBM AIX/PowerVM VIOS 4.1/7.2/7.3 out-of-bounds

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.
4.4$0-$5k0.95+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS 4.1/7.2/7.3. This vulnerability affects unknown code. Performing a manipulation results in out-of-bounds. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2026-16973. The attack requires a local approach. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS 4.1/7.2/7.3. This affects an unknown code. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a out-of-bounds vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-125. The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality. The summary by CVE is:

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a local attacker to disclose sensitive kernel memory due to an out-of-bounds read.

The advisory is shared at ibm.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-16973 since 07/24/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. An attack has to be approached locally. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/21/2026).

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

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.4
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.4

VulDB Base Score: 3.3
VulDB Temp Score: 3.3
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CNA Base Score: 5.5
CNA Vector (ibm): 🔒

CVSSv2info

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

Exploitinginfo

Class: Out-of-bounds
CWE: CWE-125 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

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

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: no mitigation known
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Timelineinfo

07/24/2026 CVE reserved
08/20/2026 +27 days VulDB entry created
08/21/2026 +0 days Advisory disclosed
08/21/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: ibm.com

Advisory: ibm.com
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-16973 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-16973
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-393957

Entryinfo

Created: 08/21/2026 00:43
Changes: 08/21/2026 00:43 (62)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

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