IBM Support

Security Bulletin: IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge is vulnerable to arbitrary code execution in HuggingFace Transformers [CVE-2026-1839]

Security Bulletin


Summary

IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge is vulnerable to arbitrary code execution in HuggingFace Transformers, due to a flaw in the `Trainer` class, that allows for arbitrary code execution [CVE-2026-1839]. HuggingFace Transformers is used in our speech runtimes. This vulnerabilitiy has been addressed. Please read the details for remediation below.

Vulnerability Details

CVEID:   CVE-2026-1839
DESCRIPTION:   A vulnerability in the HuggingFace Transformers library, specifically in the `Trainer` class, allows for arbitrary code execution. The `_load_rng_state()` method in `src/transformers/trainer.py` at line 3059 calls `torch.load()` without the `weights_only=True` parameter. This issue affects all versions of the library supporting `torch=2.2` when used with PyTorch versions below 2.6, as the `safe_globals()` context manager provides no protection in these versions. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by supplying a malicious checkpoint file, such as `rng_state.pth`, which can execute arbitrary code when loaded. The issue is resolved in version v5.0.0rc3.
CWE:   CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
CVSS Source:   NVD
CVSS Base score:   7.8
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)

Affected Products and Versions

 

Affected Product(s)Version(s)
IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge 4.0.0 - 5.3.1

 

 

Remediation/Fixes

Product(s)Version(s)Remediation/Fix/Instructions
IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge5.4 The fix in v5.4  applies to all versions listed (4.0.0-5.3.1). The newest version, 5.4 can be downloaded and installed from:
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/cloud-paks/cp-data

 

Workarounds and Mitigations

None

Get Notified about Future Security Bulletins

References

Off

Acknowledgement

Change History

24 Jul 2026: Initial Publication

*The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Security Bulletin.

Disclaimer

According to the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is an "industry open standard designed to convey vulnerability severity and help to determine urgency and priority of response." IBM PROVIDES THE CVSS SCORES ""AS IS"" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CUSTOMERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ANY ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL SECURITY VULNERABILITY. In addition to other efforts to address potential vulnerabilities, IBM periodically updates the record of components contained in our product offerings. As part of that effort, if IBM identifies previously unidentified packages in a product/service inventory, we address relevant vulnerabilities regardless of CVE date. Inclusion of an older CVEID does not demonstrate that the referenced product has been used by IBM since that date, nor that IBM was aware of a vulnerability as of that date. We are making clients aware of relevant vulnerabilities as we become aware of them. "Affected Products and Versions" referenced in IBM Security Bulletins are intended to be only products and versions that are supported by IBM and have not passed their end-of-support or warranty date. Thus, failure to reference unsupported or extended-support products and versions in this Security Bulletin does not constitute a determination by IBM that they are unaffected by the vulnerability. Reference to one or more unsupported versions in this Security Bulletin shall not create an obligation for IBM to provide fixes for any unsupported or extended-support products or versions.

Document Location

Worldwide

[{"Business Unit":{"code":"BU048","label":"IBM Software"},"Product":{"code":"SSK9BC","label":"IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge"},"Component":"","Platform":[{"code":"PF040","label":"RedHat OpenShift"}],"Version":"4.0.0-5.3.1","Edition":"All","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB76","label":"Data Platform"}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
24 July 2026

Initial Publish date:
24 July 2026

UID

ibm17281167