Description

IBM Power Systems Firmware FW1120.00, FW1110.00 through FW1110.30, FW1060.00 through FW1060.80, FW950.00 through FW950.H2, OP940.00 through OP940.a1 (Power9), and OP940.00 - OP940.81 (Power HMC) is affected by a vulnerability in host firmware configuration parsing. An attacker with service-level access to the BMC/FSP can supply specially crafted configuration data, compromising the host firmware boot stage and everything subsequently loaded by it, resulting in a confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact to the managed system.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "8.2",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-19T19:17:11.100Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-19T19:17:11.100Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A host firmware configuration parsing vulnerability exists in IBM Power Systems Firmware, specifically affecting FW1120.00, FW1110.00 through FW1110.30, FW1060.00 through FW1060.80, FW950.00 through FW950.H2, OP940.00 through OP940.a1 on Power9, and OP940.00 through OP940.81 on Power HMC. The flaw resides within the host firmware configuration parsing component, allowing an authenticated attacker with service-level access to the Baseboard Management Controller or Flexible Support Processor (BMC/FSP) to supply specially crafted configuration data. Successful exploitation compromises the host firmware boot stage and all subsequently loaded software components, resulting in a severe impact on the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the managed system. The risk implications are critical, as the compromise occurs at the foundational hardware initialization layer, bypassing traditional operating system controls and establishing persistent control over the target hardware platform.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability stems from improper input validation and insecure parsing of configuration data within the host firmware configuration parsing component of IBM Power Systems Firmware. The affected product versions include FW1120.00, FW1110.00 through FW1110.30, FW1060.00 through FW1060.80, FW950.00 through FW950.H2, OP940.00 through OP940.a1 (Power9), and OP940.00 - OP940.81 (Power HMC). Exploitation requires an attacker to possess service-level access privileges to the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) or the Flexible Support Processor (FSP).\nThe attack flow begins when an attacker leverages their authorized service-level interface access to submit maliciously crafted configuration payloads to the BMC/FSP subsystem. During the system boot process or routine configuration reads, the vulnerable host firmware component parses this supplied configuration data without performing adequate bounds checking, sanitization, or cryptographic validation of the input structures. This improper parsing logic triggers memory corruption or logic flaws within the parsing routine, allowing arbitrary data or malicious execution flows to be injected into the boot initialization phase.\nOnce the host firmware configuration parsing routine is subverted, the malicious payload compromises the integrity of the host firmware boot stage. Because the boot stage establishes the foundational trust anchor for the entire hardware platform, any compromise at this level cascades downward to affect everything subsequently loaded, including hypervisors, operating systems, and security enclaves. The post-exploitation impact includes total loss of system integrity, unauthorized access to sensitive tenant data impacting confidentiality, and potential denial of service affecting availability. The attack vector is strictly internal to the management network or local service interfaces, requiring prior authentication and elevated service-level privileges on the BMC/FSP."
}