IBM Power Systems Firmware FW950.00 through FW950.H2, OP940.00 through OP940.a1 (Power9), and OP940.00 - OP940.81 (Power HMC) is affected by a vulnerability in host firmware NVRAM parsing. An attacker with root access to a guest partition on an OpenPOWER system can write a specially crafted NVRAM image, causing the host firmware boot stage to crash with possible memory corruption. This condition persists until operator intervention — clearing NVRAM via the service processor — to restore normal operation. This vulnerability only affects OpenPOWER systems; systems running PowerVM are not affected. Successful exploitation results in an integrity and availability impact to the managed system.
"}],"value":"IBM Power Systems Firmware FW950.00 through FW950.H2, OP940.00 through OP940.a1 (Power9), and OP940.00 - OP940.81 (Power HMC) is affected by a vulnerability in host firmware NVRAM parsing. An attacker with root access to a guest partition on an OpenPOWER system can write a specially crafted NVRAM image, causing the host firmware boot stage to crash with possible memory corruption. This condition persists until operator intervention — clearing NVRAM via the service processor — to restore normal operation. This vulnerability only affects OpenPOWER systems; systems running PowerVM are not affected. Successful exploitation results in an integrity and availability impact to the managed system."}],"metrics":[{"cvssV3_1":{"attackComplexity":"LOW","attackVector":"LOCAL","availabilityImpact":"HIGH","baseScore":7.3,"baseSeverity":"HIGH","confidentialityImpact":"NONE","integrityImpact":"LOW","privilegesRequired":"LOW","scope":"CHANGED","userInteraction":"NONE","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H","version":"3.1"},"format":"CVSS","scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"GENERAL"}]}],"problemTypes":[{"descriptions":[{"cweId":"CWE-125","description":"CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read","lang":"en","type":"CWE"}]}],"providerMetadata":{"dateUpdated":"2026-08-19T19:46:38.034Z","orgId":"9a959283-ebb5-44b6-b705-dcc2bbced522","shortName":"ibm"},"references":[{"tags":["vendor-advisory","patch"],"url":"https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7283240"}],"solutions":[{"lang":"en","supportingMedia":[{"base64":false,"type":"text/html","value":"Customers with the products below should install FW950.H3(950_230) or newer to remediate this vulnerability.
Power 9
Customers with the products below should install OP940.a2 or newer to remediate this vulnerability.
Power 9
Customers with the products below should install OP940.82 or newer to remediate this vulnerability.
Power Hardware Management Console
The images mentioned above can be located at IBM Fix Central : https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/
"}],"value":"Customers with the products below should install FW950.H3(950_230) or newer to remediate this vulnerability.\nPower 9\n\n * IBM Power System S922 (9009-22G)\n * IBM Power System H922 (9223-22S)\n * IBM Power System S914 (9009-41G)\n * IBM Power System S924 (9009-42G)\n * IBM Power System H924 (9223-42S)\n * IBM Power System E950 (9040-MR9)\n * IBM Power System E980 (9080-M9S)\n\n\nCustomers with the products below should install OP940.a2 or newer to remediate this vulnerability.\nPower 9\n\n * IBM Power System AC922 (8335-GTH, 8335-GTX)\n\n\nCustomers with the products below should install OP940.82 or newer to remediate this vulnerability.\nPower Hardware Management Console\n\n * IBM Power Hardware Management Console (7063-CR2)\n\n\nThe images mentioned above can be located at IBM Fix Central : https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/ https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/"}],"title":"Power System Out-of-bounds Read"}},"cveMetadata":{"assignerOrgId":"9a959283-ebb5-44b6-b705-dcc2bbced522","assignerShortName":"ibm","cveId":"CVE-2026-17042","datePublished":"2026-08-19T19:11:07.905Z","dateReserved":"2026-07-24T12:55:35.930Z","dateUpdated":"2026-08-19T19:46:38.034Z","state":"PUBLISHED"},"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2"},"nvd":{"publishedDate":"2026-08-19 20:17:12","lastModifiedDate":"2026-08-20 13:03:39","problem_types":["CWE-125","CWE-125 CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read"],"metrics":{"cvssMetricV31":[{"source":"psirt@us.ibm.com","type":"Primary","cvssData":{"version":"3.1","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H","baseScore":7.3,"baseSeverity":"HIGH","attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"LOW","privilegesRequired":"LOW","userInteraction":"NONE","scope":"CHANGED","confidentialityImpact":"NONE","integrityImpact":"LOW","availabilityImpact":"HIGH"},"exploitabilityScore":2,"impactScore":4.7}],"ssvcV203":[{"source":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0","ssvcData":{"timestamp":"2026-08-19T19:24:22.753664Z","id":"CVE-2026-17042","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"partial"}],"role":"CISA Coordinator","version":"2.0.3"}}]},"configurations":[]},"legacy_mitre":{"record":{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"17042","Ordinal":"1","Title":"Power System Out-of-bounds Read","CVE":"CVE-2026-17042","Year":"2026"},"notes":[{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"17042","Ordinal":"1","NoteData":"IBM Power Systems Firmware FW950.00 through FW950.H2, OP940.00 through OP940.a1 (Power9), and OP940.00 - OP940.81 (Power HMC) is affected by a vulnerability in host firmware NVRAM parsing. An attacker with root access to a guest partition on an OpenPOWER system can write a specially crafted NVRAM image, causing the host firmware boot stage to crash with possible memory corruption. This condition persists until operator intervention — clearing NVRAM via the service processor — to restore normal operation. This vulnerability only affects OpenPOWER systems; systems running PowerVM are not affected. Successful exploitation results in an integrity and availability impact to the managed system.","Type":"Description","Title":"Power System Out-of-bounds Read"}]}}}