CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-16835NVD status: Analyzed

Power Systems Firmware: Improper Certificate Validation

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-16835 is a critical-severity improper certificate validation vulnerability in Power Systems Firmware from IBM, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.6 out of 10. It can be exploited from the same local network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected Power Systems Firmware versions: FW1120.00; FW1110.00 through FW1110.30; FW1060.00 through FW1060.80, and others listed below. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.36% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update Power System E1080 (9080-hex) Firmware to fw1060.81 or a later version.
  2. Update Power System E1180 (9080-heu) Firmware to fw1110.31 or a later version.
  3. Update Power System S922 (9009-22g) Firmware to fw950.h3 or a later version.
  4. Read the advisory on ibm.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
IBMPower Systems FirmwareFW1120.00; FW1110.00 through FW1110.30; FW1060.00 through FW1060.80; FW950.00 through FW950.H2Not stated
IBMPower System E1080 (9080-hex) Firmwarefw1060.00 up to, but not including, fw1060.81fw1060.81
IBMPower System E1180 (9080-heu) Firmwarefw1110.00 up to, but not including, fw1110.31; fw1120.00fw1110.31
IBMPower System S922 (9009-22g) Firmwarefw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3fw950.h3
IBMPower System H922 (9223-22s) Firmwarefw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3fw950.h3
IBMPower System S914 (9009-41g) Firmwarefw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3fw950.h3
IBMPower System S924 (9009-42g) Firmwarefw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3fw950.h3
IBMPower System H924 (9223-42s) Firmwarefw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3fw950.h3
IBMPower System E950 (9040-mr9) Firmwarefw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3fw950.h3
IBMPower System E980 (9080-m9s) Firmwarefw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3fw950.h3

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
AdjacentThe attacker must be on the same local network segment.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (us.ibm.com).

Official description

IBM Power Systems Firmware FW1120.00, FW1110.00 through FW1110.30, FW1060.00 through FW1060.80, and FW950.00 through FW950.H2 is affected by a vulnerability in the FSP management network protocol. An unauthenticated attacker on the management network can bypass authentication and perform any administrative operation on the managed system, including control of partition power state, configuration, and console access across all hosted partitions, resulting in a confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact to the managed system.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Certificate Validation

The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Certificates should be carefully managed and checked to assure that data are encrypted with the intended owner's public key.
  • If certificate pinning is being used, ensure that all relevant properties of the certificate are fully validated before the certificate is pinned, including the hostname.

More Improper Certificate Validation vulnerabilities (CWE-295)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in Power Systems Firmware

All Power Systems Firmware vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Certificate Validation vulnerabilities

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