CVE-2026-17503: CWE-20 Improper Input Validation in IBM PowerVM Hypervisor
IBM PowerVM Hypervisor FW1120.00 through FW1120.01, FW1110.00 through FW1110.31, FW1060.00 through FW1060.81, and FW950.00 through FW950.H3 is affected by a vulnerability in the partition firmware runtime boot configuration. An attacker with root access to a partition can maliciously alter partition nvram, causing the partition to fail to boot. This condition persists until operator intervention — deleting and recreating the partition configuration — to restore normal operation. Successful exploitation results in an integrity and availability impact.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
IBM PowerVM Hypervisor versions FW1120.00 through FW1120.01, FW1110.00 through FW1110.31, FW1060.00 through FW1060.81, and FW950.00 through FW950.H3 contain a CWE-20 improper input validation vulnerability in the partition firmware runtime boot configuration. A root-level attacker within a partition can alter the partition nvram, leading to a boot failure that requires manual operator intervention to restore. The vulnerability results in integrity and availability impacts without compromising confidentiality.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows a root user in a partition to corrupt the partition's nvram, causing the partition to fail to boot. This results in loss of availability and integrity of the affected partition until an operator intervenes by deleting and recreating the partition configuration. There is no confidentiality impact reported.
Mitigation Recommendations
No patch or official fix information is provided. Operators must manually delete and recreate the affected partition configuration to restore normal operation after exploitation. Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance.
CVE-2026-17503: CWE-20 Improper Input Validation in IBM PowerVM Hypervisor
Description
IBM PowerVM Hypervisor FW1120.00 through FW1120.01, FW1110.00 through FW1110.31, FW1060.00 through FW1060.81, and FW950.00 through FW950.H3 is affected by a vulnerability in the partition firmware runtime boot configuration. An attacker with root access to a partition can maliciously alter partition nvram, causing the partition to fail to boot. This condition persists until operator intervention — deleting and recreating the partition configuration — to restore normal operation. Successful exploitation results in an integrity and availability impact.
CVSS v3.1
Score 5.1medium
Affected software
IBM
PowerVM Hypervisor
cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powervm_hypervisor:fw1120.00:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powervm_hypervisor:fw1120.00.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powervm_hypervisor:fw1120.01:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powervm_hypervisor:fw1120.01.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powervm_hypervisor:fw1110.00:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powervm_hypervisor:fw1110.00.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*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
IBM PowerVM Hypervisor versions FW1120.00 through FW1120.01, FW1110.00 through FW1110.31, FW1060.00 through FW1060.81, and FW950.00 through FW950.H3 contain a CWE-20 improper input validation vulnerability in the partition firmware runtime boot configuration. A root-level attacker within a partition can alter the partition nvram, leading to a boot failure that requires manual operator intervention to restore. The vulnerability results in integrity and availability impacts without compromising confidentiality.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows a root user in a partition to corrupt the partition's nvram, causing the partition to fail to boot. This results in loss of availability and integrity of the affected partition until an operator intervenes by deleting and recreating the partition configuration. There is no confidentiality impact reported.
Mitigation Recommendations
No patch or official fix information is provided. Operators must manually delete and recreate the affected partition configuration to restore normal operation after exploitation. Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- ibm
- Date Reserved
- 2026-07-26T18:58:55.236Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 6ab53135f7a7c541066a02fd
Added to database: 09/24/2026, 14:18:29 UTC
Last enriched: 09/24/2026, 14:33:13 UTC
Last updated: 09/25/2026, 04:27:38 UTC
Views: 7
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