Description

IBM i 7.6, 7.5, 7.4, and 7.3 could allow a remote authenticated attacker to bypass security restrictions due to improper privilege management.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "3.1",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-13T21:17:41.263Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-13T21:17:41.263Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A security vulnerability has been identified in IBM i affecting versions 7.6, 7.5, 7.4, and 7.3, which allows a remote authenticated attacker to bypass security restrictions due to improper privilege management.\nThe vulnerability involves inadequate authorization checks and privilege handling within the affected operating system components, presenting significant risk implications for enterprise environments relying on strict role-based access control.\nTo successfully exploit this security flaw, an attacker must possess authenticated access to the target system, potentially over a remote network connection.\nUpon successful exploitation, the vulnerability enables unauthorized individuals to circumvent established security constraints, leading to unauthorized access to privileged functions and sensitive system resources that should otherwise be restricted based on their assigned role or clearance level.\nThe impact of this vulnerability compromises the confidentiality, integrity, and overall security posture of the host operating system, potentially facilitating further malicious activities within the compromised administrative domain.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of the vulnerability stems from improper privilege management within the security architecture of IBM i versions 7.6, 7.5, 7.4, and 7.3.\nImproper privilege management occurs when the affected software fails to adequately validate or enforce user permissions and authorization boundaries before granting access to privileged resources or operations.\nThe vulnerable components are tied to the operating system's internal authorization and access control subsystems, which govern how user credentials and assigned authorities are evaluated during system calls and operational requests.\nExploitation of this vulnerability requires the attacker to be authenticated to the target system, meaning anonymous or unauthenticated entities cannot initiate the attack flow directly.\nNetwork exposure is a factor, as the flaw can be leveraged by a remote authenticated attacker interacting with exposed system services or management interfaces.\nThe step-by-step attack flow typically begins with the attacker establishing a valid authenticated session against the vulnerable IBM i instance using standard credentials or compromised accounts.\nOnce authentication is achieved, the attacker crafts specialized requests or manipulates operational parameters targeting the flawed authorization logic within the privilege management subsystem.\nBecause the underlying component fails to correctly enforce restrictions or verify if the authenticated user possesses the requisite security officer or administrative authority, the system improperly processes the request and grants unauthorized access.\nThe payload behavior involves leveraging this authority escalation or security restriction bypass to execute privileged commands, access restricted data files, or manipulate system configurations outside the scope of the user's intended profile.\nThe post-exploitation impact includes unauthorized elevation of privilege, persistent unauthorized access to sensitive system management functions, and potential degradation of the overall security architecture of the IBM i environment."
}