VulnerabilityPublished 3 Mar 2026Updated 4 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-2606: IBM webMethods API Gateway (on-prem) · Path Traversal

Affects IBM webMethods API Gateway (on-prem)Source CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 28% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
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: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 3 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 30 Oct 2026.

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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity 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
IBMwebMethods API Gateway (on-prem)	Affected >=10.11 <=10.11_Fix32 >=10.15 <=10.15_Fix27 >=11.1 <=11.1_Fix7	Fixed in–

CPE configurations (2)

cpe:2.3:a:ibm:webmethods_api_gateway_on_prem:10.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ibm:webmethods_api_gateway_on_prem:10.11_fix3210.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-2606, organizations should: 1) Apply the latest IBM patches or fixes as soon as they become available, as IBM is expected to release updates addressing this vulnerability. 2) Implement strict input validation and sanitization on the /createapi endpoint to ensure only expected URL schemas (e.g., https://) are accepted, explicitly blocking file:// and other potentially dangerous schemes. 3) Restrict access to the /createapi endpoint to trusted users and networks using network segmentation, firewall rules, and strong authentication controls. 4) Monitor logs and network traffic for suspicious requests containing file:// URIs or unusual access patterns to detect attempted exploitation. 5) Employ the principle of least privilege for accounts accessing the API Gateway, minimizing the risk posed by compromised credentials. 6) Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on API endpoints to identify similar input validation weaknesses. 7) Consider deploying web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to block malicious URI schemes targeting the vulnerable endpoint. These measures combined will reduce the risk of exploitation until patches are applied.

Description

IBM webMethods API Gateway (on-prem) 10.11 through 10.11_Fix3210.15 to 10.15_Fix2711.1 to 11.1_Fix7 IBM webMethods API Management (on-prem) fails to properly validate user-supplied input passed to the url parameter on the /createapi endpoint. An attacker can modify this parameter to use a file:// URI schema instead of the expected https:// schema, enabling unauthorized arbitrary file read access on the underlying server file system.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-2606 is unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information due to arbitrary file read on the server hosting IBM webMethods API Gateway. This can lead to exposure of configuration files, credentials, or other sensitive data that could compromise the security posture of the affected organization. Such information leakage can facilitate lateral movement, privilege escalation, or further targeted attacks. Since the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability, it does not directly enable data modification or service disruption. However, the confidentiality breach alone can have severe consequences, especially in environments handling sensitive or regulated data. Organizations relying on IBM webMethods API Gateway for API management and security may face increased risk of data breaches and compliance violations if this vulnerability is exploited. The ease of exploitation and remote attack vector increase the threat level, particularly in environments where limited privilege accounts can access the vulnerable endpoint.

Summary

CVE-2026-2606 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) affecting IBM webMethods API Gateway (on-prem) versions 10.11, 10.15, and 11.1. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of the 'url' parameter on the /createapi endpoint. Instead of restricting input to expected HTTPS URLs, the application fails to block file:// URI schemes. An attacker can exploit this by crafting a malicious request that uses the file:// scheme to access arbitrary files on the underlying server's filesystem. This results in unauthorized disclosure of sensitive files, potentially including configuration files, credentials, or other critical data. The vulnerability requires the attacker to have limited privileges (PR:L), but no user interaction is needed, and the attack can be performed remotely over the network (AV:N). The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5, reflecting high confidentiality impact but no impact on integrity or availability. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been reported to date. The flaw affects multiple versions of IBM’s on-premises API Gateway product, which is widely used in enterprise environments to manage and secure APIs. The vulnerability could be leveraged by attackers to gain intelligence on the target environment or facilitate further attacks.

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory (Path Traversal) (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #6OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

ibm.com/support/pages/node/7261122 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

CPE configurations (2)

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 11 Mar 2026, 20:13 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-22

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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