IBM AIX 7.2/7.3 & PowerVM VIOS 4.1: NULLptr DDoS via DS
CVE-2026-17165 Published on August 20, 2026
Vulnerabilities in IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS
IBM AIX 7.2, and 7.3 and IBM PowerVM VIOS 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to cause a denial of service due to a NULL pointer dereference.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-17165 can be exploited with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a high impact on availability.
Weakness Type
NULL Pointer Dereference
A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. NULL pointer dereference issues can occur through a number of flaws, including race conditions, and simple programming omissions.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-17165
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Affected Versions
IBM AIX:- Version 7.2 is affected.
- Version 7.3 is affected.
- Version 4.1 is affected.