What is CVE-2026-16972?

CVE-2026-16972 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Aix, classified under Improper Authentication. CVSS score: 6.5/10. Published 2026-08-20.

How severe is CVE-2026-16972?

Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.5 out of 10.

Auth bypass in IBM Aix

CVE-2026-16972

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information due to improper authentication.

Vulnerability class: Broken Authentication

Published 2026-08-20 · last modified 2026-08-24.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 6.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (28.7th percentile), scored 2026-10-05.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 29th percentile — 28.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: 0.000

Affected products

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

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-287 — Improper Authentication

References

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

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-16972?: CVE-2026-16972 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Aix, classified under Improper Authentication. CVSS score: 6.5/10. Published 2026-08-20.
How severe is CVE-2026-16972?: Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.5 out of 10.