Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in IBM AIX and PowerVM
CVE-2026-16874

7.8HIGH

Key Information:

Vendor

IBM
Status
Aix
Powervm ViOS
Vendor
CVE Published:
19 August 2026

What is CVE-2026-16874?

A flaw in IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 allows local attackers to exploit improper enforcement of Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) authentication roles, potentially granting unauthorized root privileges. This risk underscores the necessity for users to apply security patches as outlined by the vendor advisory.

Affected Version(s)

AIX 7.2

AIX 7.3

PowerVM VIOS 4.1

References

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7283858
vendor-advisorypatch

CVSS V3.1

Score:
7.8
Severity:
HIGH
Confidentiality:
High
Integrity:
High
Availability:
High
Attack Vector:
Local
Attack Complexity:
Low
Privileges Required:
Low
User Interaction:
None
Scope:
Unchanged

Timeline

  • Vulnerability published

  • Vulnerability Reserved

Credit

CVE-2026-14970, CVE-2026-15061, CVE-2026-15078, CVE-2026-15065, CVE-2026-15068 were reported to IBM by Oneconsult AG (https://oneconsult.com/).
.