Description

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a local attacker to achieve local privilege escalation due to an out-of-bounds write.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "7.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-19T20:17:08.460Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-19T20:17:08.460Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1. The flaw stems from an out-of-bounds write vulnerability within the affected operating system components.\nA local, authenticated attacker can exploit this weakness to execute arbitrary code or commands with elevated privileges, severely compromising the integrity and confidentiality of the host operating system.\nSuccessful exploitation requires local access to the vulnerable system, meaning the attacker must already possess execution capabilities on the target machine.\nGiven the severity of privilege escalation vulnerabilities, successful exploitation allows an unprivileged user to attain higher-level permissions, potentially achieving root-level administrative control over the affected AIX or VIOS instances.\nRisk implications include full system compromise, unauthorized access to sensitive data, and potential lateral movement within virtualized environments managed by PowerVM VIOS.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability is classified as an out-of-bounds write flaw affecting IBM AIX versions 7.2 and 7.3, as well as IBM PowerVM VIOS version 4.1.\nAn out-of-bounds write occurs when software writes data past the intended boundary of a designated buffer or memory region. In the context of operating system kernels or privileged system binaries, this memory corruption condition can overwrite adjacent memory structures, control data, or function pointers.\nThe attack flow requires the adversary to have local access to the target system with unprivileged credentials. The local attacker interacts with a vulnerable system component, kernel interface, or setuid/privileged binary that improperly validates input sizes or bounds before executing memory write operations.\nBy supplying maliciously crafted input or interacting with the vulnerable component in a specific sequence, the attacker triggers the out-of-bounds write condition. This allows precise manipulation of adjacent memory contents.\nExploitation mechanics involve corrupting critical kernel structures or process memory spaces to redirect execution flow or elevate the attacker's security context. Consequently, the attacker transitions from a standard local user to an elevated privilege level, such as root.\nAuthentication is required in the form of local system access, but no network exposure is inherently necessary for the primary vector, as the flaw resides locally within the AIX and PowerVM VIOS codebase.\nPost-exploitation impact includes complete administrative control over the operating system, allowing the execution of arbitrary commands, manipulation of system configurations, deployment of persistent backdoors, and potential compromise of hosted virtual machines running under PowerVM VIOS."
}