Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A flaw in IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty can let a remote, highly privileged attacker bypass security during a narrow timing window. IBM rates it medium with CVSS 4.4, but confidentiality impact is high if prerequisites are met. The issue matters most for internet-reachable or sensitive Liberty deployments.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted remediation item, not an emergency. The attack requirements are high, but the affected product often supports critical applications and the potential confidentiality impact is significant. Remediate during the next controlled patch cycle, sooner for exposed or sensitive environments.
Technical view
CVE-2026-5516 affects IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty 22.0.0.11 through 26.0.0.5. It is mapped to CWE-362, indicating a race condition or timing issue. The CVSS vector shows network attack surface, high attack complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and high confidentiality impact.
Likely exposure
Organizations running IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty versions from 22.0.0.11 through 26.0.0.5 are potentially exposed. The source bundle does not identify specific components, configurations, or default exposure conditions, so teams should inventory Liberty runtime versions before scoping further.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked as CISA KEV. Exploitation appears constrained by high privileges and a specific timing window, but successful exploitation could bypass security and expose confidential data.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and IBM advisory reference. The vulnerability appears to be a race-condition security bypass under limited timing conditions. No exploit details, proof of concept, component-level root cause, or specific fixed build is included in the provided bundle.
Mitigation direction
- Review IBM advisory node 7273425 for fixed levels and installation guidance.
- Upgrade affected Liberty deployments to the IBM-recommended fixed version or fix pack.
- Prioritize systems handling sensitive data or exposed to untrusted networks.
- Restrict administrative or high-privilege access while remediation is pending.
- Monitor IBM support channels for revised affected-version or mitigation details.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all WebSphere Application Server Liberty runtimes and record exact versions.
- Compare discovered versions against 22.0.0.11 through 26.0.0.5.
- Confirm remediation by verifying each runtime reports an IBM-fixed level.
- Review access logs for unusual high-privilege activity around sensitive resources.
- Document systems where version or configuration evidence is incomplete.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-362: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-5516 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N0.73.6ibmVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7273425CVE reference, ibm · vendor-advisory, patch
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.