# CVE-2026-18156: IBM Financial Transaction Manager authorization bypass via identity forgery

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-18156-ibm-financial-transaction-manager-ftm-for-redhat-openshift-could  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-09-22. Updated: 2026-09-26  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-18156 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.5 · Published 2026-09-22

IBM Financial Transaction Manager is a platform that processes and manages financial transactions in enterprise environments. An authenticated attacker can bypass security controls and forge the identities of other users, potentially allowing them to perform unauthorized financial actions or access sensitive data on behalf of legitimate users.

Technologies: [IBM Financial Transaction Manager](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/financial-transaction-manager). Vendors: [IBM](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/ibm).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-18156 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-18156 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-18156?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.5, published 22 September 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** IBM Financial Transaction Manager.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-18156?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-18156 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a hosted service.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-18156?** Check whether you run IBM Financial Transaction Manager. 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.

## Technical details

The vulnerability stems from improper authorization checks (CWE-862) that allow an authenticated remote attacker to forge user identities and bypass security controls. The flaw requires the attacker to be already authenticated to the system; no additional user interaction or complex setup is needed. An attacker can escalate privileges or impersonate other users to perform sensitive operations.

## Affected products

- IBM Financial Transaction Manager

## Timeline

- 2026-09-22: disclosed

## References

- [https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7288641](https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7288641)

## Related threats

- [IBM Financial Transaction Manager XML external entity injection](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-93030-ftm-4-x-all-could-allow-a-remote-authenticated-attacker-to-obtain)
- [IBM Financial Transaction Manager missing authentication in Business Rules Manager](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-19267-ibm-financial-transaction-manager-ftm-for-redhat-openshift-is)
- [IBM Financial Transaction Manager boolean-based SQL injection](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-19179-ibm-financial-transaction-manager-ftm-for-redhat-openshift-could)
- [IBM Financial Transaction Manager privilege escalation in container](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-19087-ibm-financial-transaction-manager-ftm-for-redhat-openshift-could)
- [IBM Financial Transaction Manager RAG poisoning via unauthenticated runbook](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-18875-ibm-financial-transaction-manager-ftm-for-redhat-openshift-is)