CVE-2026-16938: power system e950 Auth Bypass — Fix

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 access controls over privileged system configuration operations on the FSP. An attacker with authenticated administrator-level access to the FSP can place the managed system into a non-production operational mode, allowing certain system components to be disabled. This condition persists across FSP resets and requires explicit operator intervention — clearing the affected configuration — to restore normal operation. Successful exploitation results in an availability impact to the managed system.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

6.9

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0014

Probability of exploitation

0.04%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-862 Missing Authorization

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
ibm	power_system_e1080_\(9080-hex\)_firmware	fw1060.00 — fw1060.81
ibm	power_system_e1080_\(9080-hex\)	All
ibm	power_system_e1180_\(9080-heu\)_firmware	fw1110.00 — fw1110.31
ibm	power_system_e1180_\(9080-heu\)_firmware	All
ibm	power_system_e1180_\(9080-heu\)	All
ibm	power_system_s922_\(9009-22g\)_firmware	fw950.00 — fw950.h3
ibm	power_system_s922_\(9009-22g\)	All
ibm	power_system_h922_\(9223-22s\)_firmware	fw950.00 — fw950.h3
ibm	power_system_h922_\(9223-22s\)	All
ibm	power_system_s914_\(9009-41g\)_firmware	fw950.00 — fw950.h3
ibm	power_system_s914_\(9009-41g\)	All
ibm	power_system_s924_\(9009-42g\)_firmware	fw950.00 — fw950.h3
ibm	power_system_s924_\(9009-42g\)	All
ibm	power_system_h924_\(9223-42s\)_firmware	fw950.00 — fw950.h3
ibm	power_system_h924_\(9223-42s\)	All
ibm	power_system_e950_\(9040-mr9\)_firmware	fw950.00 — fw950.h3
ibm	power_system_e950_\(9040-mr9\)	All
ibm	power_system_e980_\(9080-m9s\)_firmware	fw950.00 — fw950.h3
ibm	power_system_e980_\(9080-m9s\)	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7283896

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-16938? +

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 access controls over privileged system configuration operations on the FSP. An attacker with authenticated administrator-level access to the FSP can place the managed system into a non-production operational mode, allowing certain system components to be disabled. This condition persists across FSP resets and requires explicit operator intervention — clearing the affected configuration — to restore normal operation. Successful exploitation results in an availability impact to the managed system. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.9 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2026-16938? +

CVE-2026-16938 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.9 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance. The EPSS score is 0.0014, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-16938? +

CVE-2026-16938 affects products from ibm, specifically: power_system_e1080_\(9080-hex\), power_system_e1080_\(9080-hex\)_firmware, power_system_e1180_\(9080-heu\), power_system_e1180_\(9080-heu\)_firmware, power_system_e950_\(9040-mr9\), power_system_e950_\(9040-mr9\)_firmware, power_system_e980_\(9080-m9s\), power_system_e980_\(9080-m9s\)_firmware, power_system_h922_\(9223-22s\), power_system_h922_\(9223-22s\)_firmware, power_system_h924_\(9223-42s\), power_system_h924_\(9223-42s\)_firmware, power_system_s914_\(9009-41g\), power_system_s914_\(9009-41g\)_firmware, power_system_s922_\(9009-22g\), power_system_s922_\(9009-22g\)_firmware, power_system_s924_\(9009-42g\), power_system_s924_\(9009-42g\)_firmware. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-16938? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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