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Powervm HypervisorOperating system · Ibm

CVE-2025-36238

MEDIUM · 6.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
IBM PowerVM Hypervisor FW1110.00 through FW1110.03, FW1060.00 through FW1060.51, and FW950.00 through FW950.F0 could allow a local user with administration privileges to obtain sensitive information from a Virtual TPM through a series of PowerVM service procedures.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

IBM PowerVM Hypervisor firmware versions FW1110.00-03, FW1060.00-51, and FW950.00-F0 contain a vulnerability where a local administrative user can extract sensitive information from a Virtual TPM (vTPM) by exploiting a series of PowerVM service procedures. This is an information disclosure flaw specific to the vTPM functionality in the hypervisor.

MitigationApply the latest IBM PowerVM hypervisor firmware patches (FW1110.04 or later for the 11.10 stream, FW1060.52 or later for the 10.60 stream, and FW950.F1 or later for the 9.50 stream). Review user access to PowerVM service procedures and implement least-privilege controls where possible.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Powervm HypervisorOperating system
Affected:= fw950.00= fw950.10= fw950.11= fw950.20= fw950.30= fw950.40= fw950.50= fw950.60= fw950.70= fw950.71= fw950.80= fw950.90

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed PowerVM firmware version
    Access the Hardware Management Console (HMC) or Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM) and retrieve the hypervisor firmware version. On HMC, use the 'lslic' command or navigate to Systems > Management > Hardware Information. On IVM, use 'lsfirmware' or check via the Integrated Virtualization Manager web interface under System Settings > Firmware.
    Affected if The installed version matches any of: FW950.00, FW950.10, FW950.11, FW950.20, FW950.30, FW950.40, FW950.50, FW950.60, FW950.70, FW950.71, FW950.80, or FW950.90 (or falls within the 11.10 stream below FW1110.04, or 10.60 stream below FW1060.52).
  2. Check if Virtual TPM (vTPM) is configured on any LPARs
    On the HMC, select each managed system, then go to LPAR Configuration > Virtual TPM. Alternatively, use the command 'lssyscfg -r lpar -m <managed_system> --filter "lpar_env=aixlinux"' and inspect the 'virtual_tpm' or 'vtpm_enabled' attribute for each LPAR. In IVM, check via the LPAR details in the web interface under Virtual TPM settings.
    Affected if vTPM is enabled or configured on any Logical Partition on the affected system.
  3. Verify access to PowerVM service procedures
    Review user permissions on the HMC or IVM to determine if any local administrative users have access to PowerVM service procedures. Use 'lsuser' on HMC or check the Serviceability section in the HMC user profile settings. Service procedures are typically accessible to service representatives and administrators.
    Affected if Local administrative users (non-IBM service personnel) have access to PowerVM service procedures on the system.
  4. Confirm the hypervisor platform type
    Verify that the system is running IBM PowerVM Hypervisor specifically (not other hypervisors). Check via the HMC under Systems > managed_system > Properties, or use 'lssyscfg -r sys -m <managed_system>' to confirm the hypervisor type is 'pvm' or PowerVM.
    Affected if The hypervisor type is IBM PowerVM and the firmware version is in the affected ranges listed above.

You are affected if your PowerVM hypervisor firmware version falls within the FW950.x range (specifically 950.00 through 950.90), or is below FW1110.04 in the 11.10 stream or below FW1060.52 in the 10.60 stream, AND you have vTPM configured on any LPAR with local administrative users having access to PowerVM service procedures.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the latest IBM PowerVM hypervisor firmware patches (FW1110.04 or later for the 11.10 stream, FW1060.52 or later for the 10.60 stream, and FW950.F1 or later for the 9.50 stream). Review user access to PowerVM service procedures and implement least-privilege controls where possible.

Fix this in Powervm Hypervisor Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,780
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-36238 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data