Unauthenticated remote deserialization RCE in widely used IBM Verify Access/Identity products; high-impact enterprise server takeover risk.
CVE-2026-78401
Unauthenticated deserialization leads to remote code execution in IBM Verify Access/Identity.
Is CVE-2026-78401 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-78401 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 0.57% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-78401?
CVE-2026-78401 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.8. 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-2026-78401?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-78401. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-78401 affect?
CVE-2026-78401 affects IBM Security Verify Access 10.0 - 10.0.9.2, IBM Verify Identity Access 11.0 - 11.0.3. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-78401?
Apply IBM security update immediately; isolate affected servers and restrict access until patched.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Unauthenticated remote RCE via deserialization allowing full server takeover, data access, credential theft, and lateral movement.
Immediate action required
- affected>= 10.0 and <= 10.0.9.2
- affected>= 10.0 and <= 10.0.9.2
- affected>= 11.0 and <= 11.0.3
- affected>= 11.0 and <= 11.0.3
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.