Power Systems Firmware: Out-of-bounds Write
CVE-2026-17100 is a high-severity out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Power Systems Firmware from IBM, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.2 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with administrator privileges, 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 0.17% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Power System S1122 (9824-22a) Firmware to fw1110.31 or a later version.
- Update Power System S1124 (9824-42a) Firmware to fw1110.31 or a later version.
- Update Power System S1122s (9824-22b) Firmware to fw1110.31 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on ibm.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| IBM | Power Systems Firmware | FW1120.00; FW1110.00 through FW1110.30; FW1060.00 through FW1060.80; FW950.00 through FW950.H2; OP940.00 through OP940.a1; OP940.00 through OP940.81 | Not stated |
| IBM | Power System S1122 (9824-22a) Firmware | fw1110.00 up to, but not including, fw1110.31; fw1120.00 | fw1110.31 |
| IBM | Power System S1124 (9824-42a) Firmware | fw1110.00 up to, but not including, fw1110.31; fw1120.00 | fw1110.31 |
| IBM | Power System S1122s (9824-22b) Firmware | fw1110.00 up to, but not including, fw1110.31; fw1120.00 | fw1110.31 |
| IBM | Power System S1114 (9824-41b) Firmware | fw1110.00 up to, but not including, fw1110.31; fw1120.00 | fw1110.31 |
| IBM | Power System L1122 (9856-22h) Firmware | fw1110.00 up to, but not including, fw1110.31; fw1120.00 | fw1110.31 |
| IBM | Power System L1124 (9856-42h) Firmware | fw1110.00 up to, but not including, fw1110.31; fw1120.00 | fw1110.31 |
| IBM | Power System E1150 (9043-mru) Firmware | fw1110.00 up to, but not including, fw1110.31; fw1120.00 | fw1110.31 |
| IBM | Power System S1112 (9242-21b) Firmware | fw1120.00 | Not stated |
| IBM | Power System S1112 (9242-21t) Firmware | fw1120.00 | Not stated |
| IBM | Power System E1080 (9080-hex) Firmware | fw1060.00 up to, but not including, fw1060.81 | fw1060.81 |
| IBM | Power System S1022 (9105-22a) Firmware | fw1060.00 up to, but not including, fw1060.81 | fw1060.81 |
| IBM | Power System S1024 (9105-42a) Firmware | fw1060.00 up to, but not including, fw1060.81 | fw1060.81 |
| IBM | Power System S1022s (9105-22b) Firmware | fw1060.00 up to, but not including, fw1060.81 | fw1060.81 |
| IBM | Power System S1014 (9105-41b) Firmware | fw1060.00 up to, but not including, fw1060.81 | fw1060.81 |
| IBM | Power System L1022 (9786-22h) Firmware | fw1060.00 up to, but not including, fw1060.81 | fw1060.81 |
| IBM | Power System L1024 (9786-42h) Firmware | fw1060.00 up to, but not including, fw1060.81 | fw1060.81 |
| IBM | Power System E1050 (9043-mrx) Firmware | fw1060.00 up to, but not including, fw1060.81 | fw1060.81 |
| IBM | Power System S1012 (9028-21b) Firmware | fw1060.00 up to, but not including, fw1060.81 | fw1060.81 |
| IBM | Power System E1180 (9080-heu) Firmware | fw1110.00 up to, but not including, fw1110.31; fw1120.00 | fw1110.31 |
| IBM | Power System S922 (9009-22g) Firmware | fw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3; fw950.h3 | fw950.h3 |
| IBM | Power System H922 (9223-22s) Firmware | fw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3 | fw950.h3 |
| IBM | Power System S914 (9009-41g) Firmware | fw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3 | fw950.h3 |
| IBM | Power System S924 (9009-42g) Firmware | fw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3 | fw950.h3 |
| IBM | Power System H924 (9223-42s) Firmware | fw950.00 up to, but not including, fw950.h3 | fw950.h3 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE; 5 further products are omitted here. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- HighAdministrator-level access is required first.
- 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:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (us.ibm.com).
Official description
Power Systems Firmware FW1120.00, FW1110.00 through FW1110.30, FW1060.00 through FW1060.80, FW950.00 through FW950.H2, OP940.00 through OP940.a1, and OP940.00 - OP940.81 is affected by a vulnerability in the service processor mailbox interface. An attacker with authenticated service-level access to the BMC/FSP can exploit this vulnerability, allowing arbitrary code to be executed in the host firmware runtime, giving full control over the managed system, 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: Out-of-bounds Write
The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, many languages that perform their own memory management, such as Java and Perl, are not subject to buffer overflows. Other languages, such as Ada and C#, typically provide overflow protection, but the protection can be disabled by the programmer. Be wary that a language's interface to native code may still be subject to overflows, even if the language itself is theoretically safe.
- Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. Examples include the Safe C String Library (SafeStr) by Messier and Viega, and the Strsafe.h library from Microsoft. These libraries provide safer versions of overflow-prone string-handling functions.
- Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index checking. D3-SFCV (Stack Frame Canary Validation) from D3FEND discusses canary-based detection in detail.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
Other vulnerabilities in Power Systems Firmware
- 7.9 High severity
- 7.3 High severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 8.3 High severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
Recent Out-of-bounds Write vulnerabilities
- 8.1 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.6 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.9 High severity
Spotted an error? Tell us.