CVE-2026-9002
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 · uneditedIBM WebSphere Extreme Scale 8.6.1.0 through 8.6.1.6 could allow an adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service due to improper validation in the XDF decoder. The application processes deeply nested Protocol Buffers messages and attacker-controlled length prefixes without sufficient bounds checking, which may allow an attacker on the same network to trigger a StackOverflowError or OutOfMemoryError, resulting in a crash of the WebSphere Application Server JVM.
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 confidenceIBM WebSphere Extreme Scale versions 8.6.1.0 through 8.6.1.6 contain a vulnerability in the XDF decoder component. The decoder fails to perform adequate bounds checking when processing deeply nested Protocol Buffers messages with attacker-controlled length prefixes. An adjacent attacker on the same network can send specially crafted Protocol Buffer data to trigger either a StackOverflowError (from excessive recursive depth) or an OutOfMemoryError (from unbounded length prefix processing), causing the WebSphere Application Server JVM to crash.
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>= 8.6.1.0, <= 8.6.1.6CVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm IBM WebSphere Extreme Scale installationRun the command 'lsproduct' or check for IBM Extreme Scale installation directories such as /opt/IBM/WebSphere/eXtremeScale or the product's versionInfo commandAffected if The product is not installed or the installation directory cannot be found, then this CVE does not apply
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Determine installed versionExecute the product version command, typically found in the bin directory of the installation (e.g., versionInfo or aboutInfo) or inspect the manifest files in the installation directoryAffected if The installed version falls within 8.6.1.0 through 8.6.1.6 inclusive; versions outside this range are not affected
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Verify XDF decoder is in useInspect the configuration files (such as the/objectgrid.xml or bmk.xml files) for XDF (eXtreme Scale Data Format) decoder configuration, and check for any protobuf-based data parsing in application logs or deployed configurationsAffected if The XDF decoder is enabled and processing Protocol Buffer data; if XDF is not configured or not being used, the vulnerability is not reachable
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Check network exposureReview firewall rules, network ACLs, and the listener configuration to determine if the XDF decoder endpoint is accessible from adjacent network segments or untrusted interfacesAffected if The system is accessible from adjacent network attackers (no network segmentation or firewall restrictions), making exploitation possible
A user is affected if IBM WebSphere Extreme Scale version 8.6.1.0 through 8.6.1.6 is installed, the XDF decoder component is enabled and processing Protocol Buffer data, and the affected endpoint is reachable from adjacent network attackers.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade to IBM WebSphere Extreme Scale version 8.6.1.7 or later which contains the patch for proper bounds validation in the XDF decoder. As an interim control, restrict network access to the affected systems to prevent adjacent attackers from reaching the vulnerable decoder component.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-9002 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-9002 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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