3 Critical Flaws were found in IBM AIX, one of which was a Perfect 10. Patch Right Now
3 Critical Flaws were found in IBM AIX, one of which was a Perfect 10. Patch Right Now
The IBM AIX operating system for Power servers has vulnerabilities that could provide remote attackers the ability to traverse directories, execute arbitrary commands, and obtain Network Installation Manager (NIM) private keys.
Three critical and one high-severity vulnerabilities were identified by IBM in a recent security bulletin, and security company Mondoo also advised AIX users to address the vulnerabilities in a blog post.
Mondoo cautions that even while there isn’t now any proof of exploitation, the vulnerabilities might be linked together to harm vital industries like financial services and healthcare that frequently depend on IBM Power servers.
According to Mondoo, “these 4 flaws together present an extremely serious threat, especially in circumstances where the NIM infrastructure is exposed.”
IBM AIX Vulnerability CVE-2025-36250 Rated 10.0
With a flawless score of 10.0, CVE-2025-36250 is the vulnerability with the highest rating.
Due to inadequate process controls, the NIM server (previously known as NIM master) service (nimesis) in IBM AIX 7.2 and 7.3 and IBM VIOS (Virtual I/O Server) 3.1 and 4.1 may enable a remote attacker to carry out arbitrary commands. The IBM patch, CVE-2024-56346, was rated 10.0 and “addresses additional attack vectors for a vulnerability that was previously addressed.”
IBM AIX 7.2 and 7.3 and IBM VIOS 3.1 and 4.1 are likewise impacted by CVE-2025-36251, which has a rating of 9.6. IBM points out that because of inadequate process restrictions, Nimsh’s service SSL/TLS implementations may enable a remote attacker to carry out arbitrary commands. Additional attack vectors for a prior vulnerability, CVE-2024-56347, which was likewise rated 9.6, are also addressed by the update.
AIX 7.2 and 7.3 and IBM VIOS 3.1 and 4.1 store NIM private keys used in NIM settings “in an insecure way which is susceptible to unauthorized access by an attacker using man-in-the-middle techniques,” according to CVE-2025-36096, rated 9.0.
AIX 7.2 and 7.3, as well as IBM VIOS 3.1 and 4.1, are likewise impacted by CVE-2025-36236, rated 8.2. A remote attacker may be able to access system directories using the NIM server service or write arbitrary files on the system by sending a carefully constructed URL request.
The findings were attributed by IBM to Jan Alsenz of Oneconsult AG.
Vulnerabilities in IBM AIX Could Permit System “Hijack”
The four vulnerabilities “present an extremely serious risk because they enable a remote attacker with no privileges to perform arbitrary commands on an IBM Network Installation Manager (NIM) that’s exposed to the internet (which NIM servers typically are),” according to a statement provided to News4Hackers by Mondoo CSO Patrick Köch. This implies that in order to install malicious payloads on AIX systems, spread laterally, and endure in the larger environment, they may “hijack” unattended operating system installations and updates.
Because uptime is so crucial for these businesses, patch cycles on IBM AIX are frequently delayed, according to Köch. Although there haven’t been any instances of active exploitation yet, we strongly advise enterprises to patch these vulnerabilities right away because of their high risk.
Affected organizations should configure NIM in SSL/TLS Secure mode (nimconfig -c) and apply the fixes, according to IBM’s extensive mitigation instructions and Mondoo. The fixes can be downloaded via https at https://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/nim_fix2.tar, which downloads a tar file containing the advisory, fix packages, and OpenSSL signatures for each package.
About The Author:
Yogesh Naager is a content marketer who specializes in the cybersecurity and B2B space. Besides writing for the News4Hackers blogs, he also writes for brands including Craw Security, Bytecode Security, and NASSCOM.
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