CVE-2026-16923 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2026-16923
Vulnerability Scoring

7.0
/10
High Risk

If left unpatched, CVE-2026-16923 could lead to major system disruptions or data loss.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: High
    Exploits require significant effort and special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Local
    Vulnerability requires local system access.
  • Privileges Required: Low
    Some privileges are necessary to exploit the vulnerability.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2026-16923 Details

Status: Analyzed

Last updated: 🕣 24 Aug 2026, 20:55 UTC
Originally published on: 🕒 20 Aug 2026, 15:17 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 4 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

psirt@us.ibm.com

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVE-2026-16923 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2026-16923: IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a local attacker to gain elevated privileges due to improper privilege management.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2026-16923

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2026-16923 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2026-16923

This vulnerability, CVE-2026-16923, requires a high level of attack complexity and low privileges, making it difficult but not impossible to exploit. Organizations should ensure robust security configurations to mitigate risks.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-16923, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-16923, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: High
    Exploiting CVE-2026-16923 can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, severely compromising data privacy.
  • Integrity: High
    CVE-2026-16923 could allow unauthorized modifications to data, potentially affecting system reliability and trust.
  • Availability: High
    CVE-2026-16923 can disrupt system operations, potentially causing complete denial of service (DoS).

CVE-2026-16923 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-269

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Privilege Abuse CAPEC-122 An adversary is able to exploit features of the target that should be reserved for privileged users or administrators but are exposed to use by lower or non-privileged accounts. Access to sensitive information and functionality must be controlled to ensure that only authorized users are able to access these resources.
  • Privilege Escalation CAPEC-233 An adversary exploits a weakness enabling them to elevate their privilege and perform an action that they are not supposed to be authorized to perform.
  • Restful Privilege Elevation CAPEC-58 An adversary identifies a Rest HTTP (Get, Put, Delete) style permission method allowing them to perform various malicious actions upon server data due to lack of access control mechanisms implemented within the application service accepting HTTP messages.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0.21:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0.21:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0.30:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0.30:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0.40:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.0.40:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.1.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.1.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.1.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.1.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ibm:vios:4.1.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.2.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.2.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.2.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.2.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.2.5.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.2.5.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.2.5.100:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.2.5.100:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix:7.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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