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CVE-2026-16938

MEDIUM 6.9

Published 2026-08-19 · Last modified 2026-08-20

IBM Power Systems Firmware FW1120.00, FW1110.00 through FW1110.30, FW1060.00 through FW1060.80, and FW950.00 through FW950.H2 is affected by a vulnerability in access controls over privileged system configuration operations on the FSP. An attacker with authenticated administrator-level access to the FSP can place the managed system into a non-production operational mode, allowing certain system components to be disabled. This condition persists across FSP resets and requires explicit operator intervention — clearing the affected configuration — to restore normal operation. Successful exploitation results in an availability impact to the managed system.

NO EXPLOITATION SIGNALS

No known exploitation, public exploit, or elevated probability at this time. Track for changes.

Exploitation likelihood

0.1%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 4th percentile

○ In CISA KEV ○ Public exploit / PoC

Impact if exploited

6.9CVSS 3.1 · MEDIUM

  • ConfidentialityNone
  • IntegrityLow
  • AvailabilityHigh

What an attacker needs

  • Access: Must sit on the same / adjacent network
  • Privileges: Requires an admin / high-privilege account
  • User interaction: No user interaction needed
  • Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable

✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it

Proof of concept & exploit code

Test against your own equipment

curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-16938/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).

Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-16938/poc.json

Affected

Vendors Ibm

Products Power Systems Firmware

Weakness (CWE)

  • CWE-862: Missing Authorization

CVSS vector

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

All CVSS metrics

  • MEDIUM 6.9 v3.1 · CNA Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H
  • MEDIUM 6.9 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H

References

Patches & mitigations

Sources: NVD · CVE.org · EPSS