CVE-2026-17042: Power System Out-of-bounds Read
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.
Other sources
Power Systems Firmware 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.
— IBM
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
IBM Power Hardware Management Console (7063-CR2)to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in FW950.H3(950_230) - Upgrade
Upgrade
IBM Power System AC922 (8335-GTH, 8335-GTX)to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in FW950.H3(950_230) - Upgrade
Upgrade
IBM Power System E950 (9040-MR9)to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in FW950.H3(950_230) - Upgrade
Upgrade
IBM Power System E980 (9080-M9S)to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in FW950.H3(950_230) - Upgrade
Upgrade
IBM Power System H922 (9223-22S)to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in FW950.H3(950_230) - Upgrade
Upgrade
IBM Power System H924 (9223-42S)to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in FW950.H3(950_230) - Upgrade
Upgrade
IBM Power System S914 (9009-41G)to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in FW950.H3(950_230) - Upgrade
Upgrade
IBM Power System S922 (9009-22G)to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in FW950.H3(950_230) - Upgrade
Upgrade
IBM Power System S924 (9009-42G)to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in FW950.H3(950_230) - Compensating control
If the condition persists after exploitation, perform operator intervention to clear NVRAM via the service processor to restore normal operation.
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Which environments are affected?
Only OpenPOWER systems are affected. The listed FW950, OP940 Power9, and OP940 Power HMC firmware ranges are in scope; systems running PowerVM are not affected.
What access does an attacker need to exploit this issue?
The attacker needs root access to a guest partition on an OpenPOWER system and must be able to write a specially crafted NVRAM image.
What can be done if the system enters the persistent failure state?
The condition persists until an operator clears NVRAM through the service processor. Clearing NVRAM is required to restore normal operation after the host firmware boot stage crashes.