What is CVE-2026-16851?

CVE-2026-16851 is a high-severity vulnerability in IBM Aix, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.4/10. Published 2026-08-19.

How severe is CVE-2026-16851?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.4 out of 10.

Use After Free in IBM Aix

CVE-2026-16851

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to cause a denial of service due to a use-after-free.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

Published 2026-08-19 · last modified 2026-08-24.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.4 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (21.4th percentile), scored 2026-10-04.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 21st percentile — 21.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.003 · change: +0.001

Affected products

IBM Aix — versions 7.2, 7.3
IBM Powervm Vios — versions 4.1
IBM Vios

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-416 — Use After Free

References

www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7283858 (vendor-advisory, Patch, patch, Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-16851?: CVE-2026-16851 is a high-severity vulnerability in IBM Aix, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.4/10. Published 2026-08-19.
How severe is CVE-2026-16851?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.4 out of 10.