What is CVE-2026-17145?

CVE-2026-17145 is a critical-severity vulnerability in IBM Aix, classified under Improper Privilege Management. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2026-08-20.

How severe is CVE-2026-17145?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Privilege escalation in IBM Aix

CVE-2026-17145

IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code due to improper privilege management.

Vulnerability class: Privilege Escalation

Published 2026-08-20 · last modified 2026-08-27.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.007 (52.9th percentile), scored 2026-10-06.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 53rd percentile — 52.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.005 · newest: 0.007 · change: +0.002

Affected products

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

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-269 — Improper Privilege Management

References

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

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-17145?: CVE-2026-17145 is a critical-severity vulnerability in IBM Aix, classified under Improper Privilege Management. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2026-08-20.
How severe is CVE-2026-17145?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.