CVE-2026-9171: CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in IBM PowerVM Novalink
IBM WebSphere Application Server and WebSphere Application Server Liberty are vulnerable to a denial of service, caused by sending a specially-crafted request. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause the server to consume memory resources.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
CVE-2026-9171 is a denial of service vulnerability in IBM PowerVM Novalink caused by uncontrolled resource consumption (CWE-400). A remote attacker can exploit this by sending a specially-crafted request that forces the server to consume excessive memory resources, resulting in denial of service. The vulnerability affects specific versions of PowerVM Novalink as listed. There is currently no official remediation or patch available from IBM, and no known exploits in the wild have been reported.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation results in denial of service due to memory exhaustion on the affected IBM PowerVM Novalink server. This disrupts availability but does not impact confidentiality or integrity according to the CVSS vector.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until a fix is available, consider limiting exposure of the affected service to untrusted networks and monitoring for unusual memory usage patterns related to PowerVM Novalink.
CVE-2026-9171: CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in IBM PowerVM Novalink
Description
IBM WebSphere Application Server and WebSphere Application Server Liberty are vulnerable to a denial of service, caused by sending a specially-crafted request. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause the server to consume memory resources.
CVSS v3.1
Score 7.5high
Affected software
cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powervm_novalink:2.2.02.2.12.2.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powervm_novalink:2.3.02.3.0.12.3.12.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-9171 is a denial of service vulnerability in IBM PowerVM Novalink caused by uncontrolled resource consumption (CWE-400). A remote attacker can exploit this by sending a specially-crafted request that forces the server to consume excessive memory resources, resulting in denial of service. The vulnerability affects specific versions of PowerVM Novalink as listed. There is currently no official remediation or patch available from IBM, and no known exploits in the wild have been reported.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation results in denial of service due to memory exhaustion on the affected IBM PowerVM Novalink server. This disrupts availability but does not impact confidentiality or integrity according to the CVSS vector.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until a fix is available, consider limiting exposure of the affected service to untrusted networks and monitoring for unusual memory usage patterns related to PowerVM Novalink.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- ibm
- Date Reserved
- 2026-05-21T14:37:46.761Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a5b5eb42d1edb114c7fb5ba
Added to database: 07/18/2026, 11:08:36 UTC
Last enriched: 08/02/2026, 20:22:21 UTC
Last updated: 08/31/2026, 22:52:14 UTC
Views: 54
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