CVE-2026-16938

Persistent service interruption via unauthorized mode change

Published Aug 19, 2026 · Updated Aug 20, 2026

Missing authorization in IBM Power Systems Firmware allows remote authenticated users to persistently disable system components through the FSP. FSP access controls permit an administrator to place a managed system into non-production mode without authorizing that privileged configuration change. Administrator-level FSP access is required, and the disabled state survives FSP resets until an operator clears the configuration.

CVSS severity6.9
Medium
EPSS probability0.14%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Missing authorization in IBM Power Systems Firmware allows remote authenticated users to persistently disable system components through the FSP. FSP access controls permit an administrator to place a managed system into non-production mode without authorizing that privileged configuration change. Administrator-level FSP access is required, and the disabled state survives FSP resets until an operator clears the configuration.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-16938
Published
Aug 19, 2026
Updated
Aug 20, 2026
Vendor
IBM
Product
Power Systems Firmware
Classifications
CWE-862, T1489
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 19, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 20, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=FW1060.00 <=FW1060.80
  2. Affected versionversion=FW1110.00 <=FW1110.30
  3. Affected versionversion=FW1120.00
  4. Affected versionversion=FW950.00 <=FW950.H2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

IBM · Power Systems Firmwareversion=FW1060.00 <=FW1060.80; version=FW1110.00 <=FW1110.30; version=FW1120.00; version=FW950.00 <=FW950.H2

Published CVSS scores

6.9IBMCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-862Missing Authorization
T1489Service Stop

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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