CVE-2026-17060 is a high severity (CVSS 8.1) kernel heap over-read in IBM AIX 7.2 and 7.3 and PowerVM VIOS 4.1. A remote attacker could obtain sensitive information and cause a denial of service. IBM fixed it in cumulative service packs, so update to the levels in its bulletin.
What's affected
IBM AIX 7.2 and 7.3, and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1. IBM's bulletin is a shared one that lists many AIX and VIOS vulnerabilities, and its change history shows an initial publication on 15 August 2026. The affected fileset is bos.mp64 at these levels:
- AIX 7.2.5: 7.2.5.0 to 7.2.5.212
- AIX 7.3.2: 7.3.2.0 to 7.3.2.5
- AIX 7.3.3: 7.3.3.0 to 7.3.3.2
- AIX 7.3.4: 7.3.4.0 to 7.3.4.1
IBM's remediation levels are AIX 7.2 TL05 SP13, 7.3 TL02 SP5, 7.3 TL03 SP3 and 7.3 TL04 SP2, and VIOS fix packs 4.1.0.50, 4.1.1.30 and 4.1.2.20. These service packs are cumulative. IBM lists no workaround or mitigation.
How to check if you're exposed
Check the AIX level and the affected fileset on each LPAR.
oslevel -s
lslpp -L | grep -i bos.mp64
On a VIOS, run ioslevel as padmin. If the bos.mp64 level falls in one of the ranges above, the system is affected. IBM also assigns APARs: IJ59566 for AIX 7.2.5, IJ59565 for 7.3.2, IJ59564 for 7.3.3 and IJ59563 for 7.3.4. The vector is adjacent, so check which hosts share a network segment with each LPAR.
What to do now
- List every AIX LPAR and VIOS, with its technology level and service pack.
- Download the service pack or fix pack for your level from IBM Fix Central.
- Plan the LPAR reboot, or use Live Update on AIX where it fits, because IBM says a reboot is needed to complete the update.
- Read IBM's notes on nimsh secure and, for VIOS 4.1.0 and 4.1.1, the post-update steps for the Postgres15 migration.
- Recheck
oslevel -safter the update and record it.
Why it matters
The weakness is tagged CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information). An over-read means the kernel reads past the end of a buffer, which can leak memory contents and, if the read faults, crash the system. IBM names both outcomes.
The vector shows an adjacent attack, low complexity, no privileges and no user interaction, with high confidentiality and availability impact. A kernel crash on a production LPAR is a real outage, and a leak from kernel memory may hold sensitive data. CISA does not list this CVE as known exploited.
Quick check
Why is a denial of service rated high here?
A kernel fault can take down the whole LPAR, not one application, so the availability impact is high.
Sources
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
