CVE-2026-81549 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2026-81549
Vulnerability Scoring

9.6
/10
Critical Risk

As a catastrophic security flaw, CVE-2026-81549 has severe implications, demanding immediate intervention.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: Low
    Some privileges are necessary to exploit the vulnerability.
  • Scope: Changed
    Successful exploitation can impact components beyond the vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2026-81549 Details

Status: Received on 24 Sep 2026, 15:17 UTC

Published on: 24 Sep 2026, 15:17 UTC

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

psirt@us.ibm.com

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

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

CVE-2026-81549 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2026-81549: IBM DataStage on Cloud Pak for Data 5.4.0.0 could allow a remote authenticated attacker to obtain sensitive information due to improper validation of the X-Forwarded-Proto header.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2026-81549

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2026-81549 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-2026-81549

CVE-2026-81549 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation 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-2026-81549, 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-2026-81549, 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-2026-81549 can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, severely compromising data privacy.
  • Integrity: High
    CVE-2026-81549 could allow unauthorized modifications to data, potentially affecting system reliability and trust.
  • Availability: None
    CVE-2026-81549 does not impact system availability.

CVE-2026-81549 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-918

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Server Side Request Forgery CAPEC-664 An adversary exploits improper input validation by submitting maliciously crafted input to a target application running on a server, with the goal of forcing the server to make a request either to itself, to web services running in the server’s internal network, or to external third parties. If successful, the adversary’s request will be made with the server’s privilege level, bypassing its authentication controls. This ultimately allows the adversary to access sensitive data, execute commands on the server’s network, and make external requests with the stolen identity of the server. Server Side Request Forgery attacks differ from Cross Site Request Forgery attacks in that they target the server itself, whereas CSRF attacks exploit an insecure user authentication mechanism to perform unauthorized actions on the user's behalf.

Protect Your Infrastructure against CVE-2026-81549: Combat Critical CVE Threats

Stay updated with real-time CVE vulnerabilities and take action to secure your systems. Enhance your cybersecurity posture with the latest threat intelligence and mitigation techniques. Develop the skills necessary to defend against CVEs and secure critical infrastructures. Join the top cybersecurity professionals safeguarding today's infrastructures.

Other 5 Recently Published CVEs Vulnerabilities

  • CVE-2026-97226 – A vulnerability has been found in DbGate up to 7.2.5/7.3.1-premium-beta.1. This impacts the function fs.readFile of the file packages/api/src/contr...
  • CVE-2026-97225 – A flaw has been found in DbGate up to 7.2.5-beta.5. This affects an unknown function of the file packages/api/src/controllers/runners.js of the com...
  • CVE-2026-96873 – Improper neutralization of input during web page generation ('cross-site scripting') vulnerability in Mediawiki - CirrusSearch extension allows Ref...
  • CVE-2026-96750 – MongoDB Compass can interpolate a database name without escaping into the initial input of its embedded MongoDB shell when a user opens the shell f...
  • CVE-2026-96746 – An out-of-bounds write in the connection-monitoring logic of the MongoDB C Driver may allow an unauthenticated party who controls name resolution a...