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 buffer overflow.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "9.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-20T22:17:11.853Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-20T22:17:11.853Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This vulnerability is classified as a buffer overflow affecting IBM AIX and IBM PowerVM VIOS. The flaw allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems, presenting severe security risks to enterprise environments.\nThe primary impact of successful exploitation includes remote code execution, which can lead to complete system compromise, unauthorized access to sensitive data, and potential disruption of critical operational services.\nAffected products include IBM AIX versions 7.2 and 7.3, alongside IBM PowerVM VIOS version 4.1.\nThe risk implications are critical due to the potential for remote exploitation without requiring high-privileged interactive sessions, depending on the specific attack vector.\nAttacker capabilities involve injecting malicious payloads that exceed memory buffer allocations, leading to memory corruption and subsequent execution of attacker-supplied instructions within the context of the vulnerable process.\nExploitation requirements generally involve network accessibility to the vulnerable service handling the improperly bounded input, allowing an untrusted remote entity to trigger the buffer overflow condition.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of the vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking when processing input data within the affected components of IBM AIX 7.2, IBM AIX 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1. When the application receives data that exceeds the pre-allocated memory buffer size, a stack or heap-based buffer overflow occurs.\nThe vulnerable component fails to adequately validate the length of incoming data before writing it to memory buffers. This memory corruption flaw permits an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory structures, including control data such as saved frame pointers and return addresses.\nThe exploitation method relies on crafting a specialized payload delivered over the network via supported protocols. By transmitting an overly long input sequence, the attacker forces the overflow condition, systematically replacing critical execution pointers with addresses pointing to malicious shellcode contained within the payload.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, the remote attacker establishes network connectivity with the vulnerable service running on the target operating system. Second, the attacker transmits the malformed request containing the oversized input. Third, the application processes the input without proper truncation or boundary verification, copying the excessive data into the fixed-size buffer. Fourth, the overflow corrupts adjacent memory regions, allowing the attacker to redirect the instruction pointer upon function return.\nNetwork exposure is present wherever the vulnerable service accepts untrusted connections. Authentication and privilege requirements depend on the specific daemon or interface handling the vulnerable input stream, though remote exploitation implies network-level accessibility.\nPayload behavior upon successful execution includes running arbitrary commands with the privileges of the compromised process. Post-exploitation impact encompasses full system takeover, privilege escalation, installation of persistent backdoors, and lateral movement within the network infrastructure."
}