CVE-2025-36251VulnerabilityPublished 13 Nov 2025Updated 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-36251: IBM AIX · Process Control

Affects IBM AIXSource CVE Database V5

Mentioned vulnerabilities

CVE-2024-56347

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.6 Critical.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

9.6Critical

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 45% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 Nov 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Aixaix/aix`pkg:rpm/aix/aix`Other threats	Affected =7.2 =7.3	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

1. Apply patches or updates from IBM as soon as they become available to address CVE-2025-36251. Monitor IBM security advisories closely for official fixes. 2. Restrict network access to the nimsh service by implementing strict firewall rules and network segmentation, limiting access only to trusted management hosts. 3. Disable the nimsh service if it is not essential for operational needs to reduce the attack surface. 4. Employ intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) to monitor for anomalous activity related to nimsh or SSL/TLS connections on affected systems. 5. Enforce multi-factor authentication and strong access controls on management interfaces to reduce the risk of unauthorized access. 6. Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scans focusing on IBM AIX and VIOS environments to identify and remediate potential exposures. 7. Educate system administrators about the risks and signs of exploitation related to this vulnerability to enable rapid detection and response. 8. Implement application whitelisting and process monitoring to detect unauthorized command execution attempts. These tailored measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific service and environment affected.

Description

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM VIOS 3.1, and 4.1 nimsh service SSL/TLS implementations could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands due to improper process controls. This addresses additional attack vectors for a vulnerability that was previously addressed in CVE-2024-56347.

Impact

The impact of CVE-2025-36251 is severe for organizations using IBM AIX 7.2/7.3 and VIOS 3.1/4.1, as successful exploitation allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands, potentially leading to full system compromise. Confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data can be severely affected, as attackers could access or modify critical system files and data. The availability impact is lower but could still be affected if attackers disrupt system processes. Given the nimsh service's role in remote management, exploitation could facilitate lateral movement within networks, privilege escalation, and persistent footholds. Organizations in sectors such as finance, telecommunications, government, and critical infrastructure that rely on IBM AIX for mission-critical workloads are at heightened risk. The vulnerability's network-based attack vector and lack of privilege requirements increase the likelihood of exploitation, especially in environments with exposed or poorly segmented management interfaces. The absence of known exploits currently provides a window for proactive defense, but the critical severity score underscores the urgency of mitigation.

CWE-114Process Control (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessOWASP Top 10 A05:2025: Injection (opens in a new tab)
Executing commands or loading libraries from an untrusted source or in an untrusted environment can cause an application to execute malicious commands (and payloads) on behalf of an attacker.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Libraries that are loaded should be well understood and come from a trusted source. The application can execute code contained in the native libraries, which often contain calls that are susceptible to other security problems, such as buffer overflows or command injection.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
SQL Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention in Java (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.2 (opens in a new tab)
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Command Line Execution through SQL Injection (opens in a new tab)
Inclusion of Code in Existing Process (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

ibm.com/support/pages/node/7251173 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 05:05 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-114

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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