CVE-2026-16952: CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in IBM AIX
Description
CVE-2026-16952 is a medium severity vulnerability in IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 that allows a local attacker to cause a denial of service by uncontrolled resource consumption. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity but affects availability. No known exploits are reported in the wild. No patch or remediation details are provided in the available data.
CVSS v3.1
Score 5.5medium
Affected software
IBM
AIX
IBM
PowerVM VIOS
cpe:2.3:a:ibm:aix:7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:ibm:aix:7.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:ibm:aix:7.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:ibm:aix:7.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powervm_vios:4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powervm_vios:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*Run on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability (CVE-2026-16952) affects IBM AIX versions 7.2 and 7.3, as well as IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1. It involves uncontrolled resource consumption that can be triggered by a local attacker, leading to denial of service conditions. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.5 (medium severity) with attack vector local, low attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and impact limited to availability (no confidentiality or integrity impact).
Potential Impact
A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability to cause denial of service by exhausting system resources, impacting system availability. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity. No known active exploitation has been reported.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Since no patch or workaround information is provided, monitor IBM's official advisories for updates. Until a fix is available, limit local access to trusted users to reduce risk.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- ibm
- Date Reserved
- 2026-07-24T08:07:07.574Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 6a877782acd9273b492c5d31
Added to database: 08/20/2026, 21:54:10 UTC
Last enriched: 09/11/2026, 04:03:56 UTC
Last updated: 10/05/2026, 06:48:14 UTC
Views: 34
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