CVE-2026-16697: IBM Power Systems firmware denial of service in BMC

CVE-2026-16697 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.5 · Published 2026-11-08

IBM Power Systems firmware contains a vulnerability in the BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) HTTPS service that allows remote attackers to crash the system without authentication, causing a denial of service. The BMC is the out-of-band management interface for enterprise servers, so an outage could prevent administrators from managing and recovering the affected Power Systems infrastructure.

Technologies: IBM Power Hardware Management Console, IBM Power System E1050, IBM Power System L1022, IBM Power System L1024, IBM Power System S1012, IBM Power System S1014, IBM Power System S1022, IBM Power System S1022s, IBM Power System S1024. Vendors: IBM.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-16697 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-16697 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-16697?
Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.5, published 8 November 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
IBM Power Hardware Management Console OP940.00 through OP940.82; IBM Power System AC922 OP940.00 through OP940.A2; OP910.00 through OP910.95; IBM Power System E1050 FW1060.00 through FW1060.81; IBM Power System L1022 FW1060.00 through FW1060.81; and 6 more.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-16697?
Yes: fixed in FW1060.82 (1060_199) or newer for Power 10 systems; OP940.A3, OP910.96 or newer for OpenPOWER 9 AC922; OP940.83 or newer for Power Hardware Management Console. Until then: Protect access to the BMC network interface by operating it on a private network or behind a firewall to restrict connectivity from untrusted networks. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-16697 attacked?
It is attacked from the adjacent network, in device firmware.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-16697?
Check whether you run IBM Power Hardware Management Console, IBM Power System AC922, IBM Power System E1050 or one of the others listed at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

  • Fixed in: FW1060.82 (1060_199) or newer for Power 10 systems; OP940.A3, OP910.96 or newer for OpenPOWER 9 AC922; OP940.83 or newer for Power Hardware Management Console

Protect access to the BMC network interface by operating it on a private network or behind a firewall to restrict connectivity from untrusted networks.

Technical details

OpenBMC firmware fails to restrict excessive computational resources in the HTTPS service, allowing an unauthenticated remote attacker to trigger a denial of service. The vulnerability (CWE-770) affects multiple firmware versions across IBM Power Systems with POWER10 and OpenPOWER 9 architectures. No authentication is required and the attack is feasible over an adjacent network.

Affected products

  • IBM Power System S1022 FW1060.00 through FW1060.81
  • IBM Power System S1024 FW1060.00 through FW1060.81
  • IBM Power System S1022s FW1060.00 through FW1060.81
  • IBM Power System S1014 FW1060.00 through FW1060.81
  • IBM Power System L1022 FW1060.00 through FW1060.81
  • IBM Power System L1024 FW1060.00 through FW1060.81
  • IBM Power System E1050 FW1060.00 through FW1060.81
  • IBM Power System S1012 FW1060.00 through FW1060.81
  • IBM Power System AC922 OP940.00 through OP940.A2; OP910.00 through OP910.95
  • IBM Power Hardware Management Console OP940.00 through OP940.82

Timeline

  • 2026-10-28: disclosed

References

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