Description

IBM i 7.6, and 7.5 could allow a local attacker to gain elevated privileges due to improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "8.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-12T18:17:24.277Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-12T18:17:24.277Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A local OS command injection vulnerability exists in IBM i versions 7.5 and 7.6.\nThe vulnerability stems from the improper neutralization of special elements used within an operating system command, allowing a local attacker to manipulate command execution logic.\nSuccessful exploitation of this security flaw can lead to the acquisition of elevated privileges, enabling the malicious actor to execute unauthorized commands or access sensitive system resources with heightened access rights.\nThe risk implication is severe, as privilege escalation on foundational enterprise operating systems undermines the integrity and confidentiality of the host environment.\nThe attacker capabilities are constrained by the requirement for local access to the target system.\nSpecific prerequisites include the ability to interact with vulnerable OS command interfaces or components that fail to adequately sanitize input containing special command delimiter characters or metacharacters.\nDefenders must apply vendor-supplied patches or updates once available and enforce strict access controls to limit local user privileges and system interactions.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of the vulnerability resides in insufficient input validation and sanitization within command-handling routines in IBM i 7.5 and 7.6.\nWhen user-supplied input containing special elements or OS command metacharacters is processed by the underlying operating system interpreter without proper neutralization, the command parsing logic misinterprets the input data as executable instruction syntax rather than inert string parameters.\nThis flaw manifests as an OS command injection vulnerability within the affected product components.\nExploitation requires the attacker to possess local access to the target IBM i system.\nAuthentication is typically required depending on the specific interface being leveraged, and the attack exploits existing local trust boundaries or authorized endpoints that improperly construct operating system calls.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, the local attacker identifies an execution context or input vector where user-supplied data is concatenated or passed directly into an OS command shell or system execution function. Second, the attacker crafts a malicious payload incorporating command separators, chaining operators, or shell metacharacters designed to break out of the intended command context. Third, upon submitting this payload, the vulnerable component passes the unsanitized string to the underlying operating system. Fourth, the command interpreter executes the original command alongside the attacker-injected instructions within the security context of the vulnerable process.\nBecause the affected component frequently executes with elevated privileges, the payload behavior results in unauthorized code execution with those same elevated rights.\nThe post-exploitation impact includes severe privilege escalation, allowing the local attacker to bypass intended security constraints, read or modify restricted system files, execute arbitrary administrative tasks, and potentially compromise the overall security posture of the IBM i host environment."
}