VulnerabilityPublished 14 Sep 2026

CVE-2026-16435: IBM WebSphere Application Server 9.0, and 8.5 is affected by an authentication bypass vulnerability when using XD or Intelligent-Management features

Source GCVE Database

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-16435· Medium 5.9

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.9 Medium.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.9Medium

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 33% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
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: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
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: 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 14 Sep 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 29 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.

ghsa-55wm-9r68-hmf9

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
IBMWebSphere Application Server	Affected =9.0 =8.5	Fixed in–
Ibmibm/websphere_application_server`pkg:rpm/ibm/websphere_application_server`Other threats	Affected =8.5 =9.0	Fixed in–

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

AI-suggested

Until a fix is available, consider restricting access to the XD and Intelligent-Management features or disabling them if feasible to reduce exposure.

Description

IBM WebSphere Application Server versions 9.0 and 8.5 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability related to the XD or Intelligent-Management features. This vulnerability allows an attacker to bypass authentication under certain conditions. The CVSS score is 5.9, indicating a medium severity level. No patch or remediation details are provided in the available data. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time.

Impact

Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to bypass authentication mechanisms, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive information or administrative functions within the affected WebSphere Application Server instances. The confidentiality impact is rated high, but integrity and availability are not affected. No active exploitation is currently known.

Summary

CVE-2026-16435 describes an authentication bypass vulnerability in IBM WebSphere Application Server versions 9.0 and 8.5 when using the XD or Intelligent-Management features. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to bypass authentication controls, potentially gaining unauthorized access. The CVSS 3.1 vector indicates network attack vector, high attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, high confidentiality impact, no integrity or availability impact.

CWE-650Trusting HTTP Permission Methods on the Server Side (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A04:2021: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The server contains a protection mechanism that assumes that any URI that is accessed using HTTP GET will not cause a state change to the associated resource.
Architecture and Design · Implementation
The access control needs to be properly enforced in the application. No assumptions should be made that only HTTP DELETE, PUT, POST, and other methods have the power to alter the representation of the resource being accessed in the request.
System Configuration
Configure ACLs on the server side to ensure that proper level of access control is defined for each accessible resource representation.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
REST Assessment (opens in a new tab)
REST Security (opens in a new tab)
Cross-Site Request Forgery Prevention (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.2.1 (opens in a new tab)
V13.2.5 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 15 Sep 2026, 01:59 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-650

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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