Description

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code due to a stack-based buffer overflow.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "9.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-19T20:17:08.300Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-19T20:17:08.300Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability affects IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1. This flaw allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems.\nThe vulnerability type is a stack-based buffer overflow, characterized by improper bounds checking when processing input within the affected component.\nSuccessful exploitation of this security defect leads to arbitrary code execution, potentially granting the attacker complete control over the compromised operating system or virtual I/O server.\nThe impact is severe due to the core nature of the affected systems, which typically manage critical enterprise workloads and virtualization infrastructure.\nAttack capabilities include remote code execution without requiring prior authentication, depending on the network exposure of the vulnerable service.\nRisk implications encompass complete system compromise, unauthorized access to sensitive data, and potential lateral movement across the enterprise network.\nMitigation requires applying vendor-supplied fixes or security advisories as soon as they become available from IBM product support.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of the vulnerability resides in a stack-based buffer overflow condition within the affected software stack of IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1.\nThe vulnerable component fails to adequately validate the length of incoming data before writing it to a fixed-size memory buffer allocated on the stack.\nWhen an attacker supplies maliciously crafted input that exceeds the allocated buffer size, the excessive data overflows the stack boundaries, overwriting adjacent memory structures, including saved frame pointers and return addresses.\nThe exploitation method involves transmitting a specially crafted payload across the network to the vulnerable service handling the input.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, the remote attacker identifies the network exposure of the vulnerable service running on IBM AIX or IBM PowerVM VIOS. Second, the attacker formulates an exploit payload containing shellcode designed to execute arbitrary commands upon successful execution. Third, the attacker transmits this payload to the target system. Fourth, the target application processes the oversized input, triggering the stack-based buffer overflow. Fifth, the execution flow is redirected to the attacker-supplied shellcode by overwriting the return address on the stack.\nNetwork exposure is present, allowing remote attackers to interact with the vulnerable service over the network without local access.\nAuthentication requirements and privilege requirements for the initial attack vector are minimal or absent, enabling remote unauthenticated exploitation if the vulnerable service is directly accessible.\nPost-exploitation impact includes the execution of arbitrary code with the privileges of the compromised process, potentially leading to root-level system compromise, persistence establishment, and infrastructure disruption."
}