CVE-2026-16980
MediumCVSS 6.3Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk1th percentile - higher than 1% of all known CVEs
Summary
In IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1, improper validation of symbolic links could allow a local attacker to cause a denial of service.
Risk Assessment
A local attacker could exploit improper symbolic links to disrupt system operation, potentially affecting service availability.
Recommendation
Apply security patches from IBM. Restrict local access to trusted users only.
Other vulnerabilities in IBM AIX
See all- CVE-2016-3053High
IBM AIX contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows a locally authenticated user to obtain root level privileges.
- CVE-2026-18835Critical
IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands due to improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command.
- CVE-2026-17422Critical
IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a local attacker to execute arbitrary code due to a buffer overflow.
- CVE-2026-17160Critical
IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code due to an integer overflow during size computation.
- CVE-2026-17157Critical
IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code due to a stack buffer overflow.
- CVE-2026-17152Critical
IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code due to a buffer overflow.
- CVE-2026-17145Critical
IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code due to improper privilege management.
- CVE-2026-17142Critical
IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands due to improper authentication.
- CVE-2026-17141Critical
IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code due to a buffer overflow.
- CVE-2026-17136Critical
IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code due to a format string vulnerability.
Original NVD description (English source)
IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a local attacker to cause a denial of service due to improper validation of symbolic links.