# CVE-2026-17493: IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge out-of-bounds read in Unpacker

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-17493-ibm-watson-speech-services-cartridge-4-0-0-through-5-4-0-could  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-11-04. Updated: 2026-11-04  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-17493 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.5 · Published 2026-11-04

IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge is a speech processing component used in data analytics platforms to convert audio inputs. A remote attacker can crash the speech runtime by sending specially crafted input to the Unpacker, causing a denial of service and interrupting dependent applications that rely on speech recognition capabilities.

Technologies: [IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/watson-speech-services-cartridge). Vendors: [IBM](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/ibm).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-17493 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-17493 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-17493?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.5, published 4 November 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge 4.0.0 through 5.4.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-17493?** Yes: fixed in 5.4.0 Patch 8. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-17493 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a hosted service.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-17493?** Check whether you run IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge 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 5.4.0 Patch 8

## Technical details

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability (CWE-125) in the Unpacker component allows a remote attacker to trigger a segmentation fault when malformed input is repeatedly processed after an error condition. No authentication or user interaction is required; the attack requires only network access to the speech service endpoint.

## Affected products

- IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge 4.0.0 through 5.4.0

## Timeline

- 2026-10-22: disclosed

## References

- [https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7293511](https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7293511)

## Related threats

- [IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge use-after-free in OpenSSL](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-82418-ibm-watson-speech-services-cartridge-4-0-0-through-5-4-0-could)
- [IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge out-of-bounds read in ONNX](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-19319-ibm-watson-speech-services-cartridge-4-0-0-through-5-4-0-could)
- [IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge path traversal in LangSmith](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-16725-ibm-watson-speech-services-cartridge-4-0-0-through-5-4-0-could)
- [IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge SSRF in Sterling File Gateway](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-7253-ibm-watson-speech-services-cartridge-ssrf-in-sterling-file-gateway)