Executive brief
IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and PowerVM VIOS 4.1 contain a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability that allows remote attackers to crash affected systems. This could cause service outages for organizations relying on these operating systems for mission-critical infrastructure and virtualization tasks.
Technical details
A stack-based buffer overflow exists in IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3 and PowerVM VIOS 4.1, allowing remote attackers to trigger a denial of service condition. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable without authentication or user interaction required. An attacker can send a crafted network request to overflow a stack buffer, causing the affected process to crash and resulting in availability impact. IBM has released security updates through Service Packs and Fix Packs to remediate this issue; affected systems should apply these patches promptly.
Affected products
- IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3
- IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1
Timeline
- 2026-08-20: disclosed