CVE-2026-16848
Remote command injection via DHCP options in IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS.
Is CVE-2026-16848 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-16848 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.31% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-16848?
CVE-2026-16848 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-16848?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-16848. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-16848 affect?
CVE-2026-16848 affects IBM AIX 7.2, IBM AIX 7.3, IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-16848?
Apply vendor patch when released; restrict DHCP access and monitor logs.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Remote arbitrary command execution via crafted DHCP options (shell metacharacter injection), enabling full system compromise on affected hosts.
Immediate action required
- affected7.2
- affected7.3
- affected4.1
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.