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Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2013-6016

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-10-26
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
87/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
The Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) in F5 BIG-IP LTM, APM, ASM, Edge Gateway, GTM, Link Controller, and WOM 10.0.0 through 10.2.2 and 11.0.0; Analytics 11.0.0; PSM 9.4.0 through 9.4.8, 10.0.0 through 10.2.4, and 11.0.0 through 11.4.1; and WebAccelerator 9.4.0 through 9.4.8, 10.0.0 through 10.2.4, and 11.0.0 through 11.3.0 might change a TCP connection to the ESTABLISHED state before receiving the ACK packet, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (SIGFPE or assertion failure and TMM restart) via unspecified vectors.

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

The F5 BIG-IP Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) incorrectly transitions TCP connections to the ESTABLISHED state before receiving the proper ACK packet during the three-way handshake. This premature state change triggers a SIGFPE (floating-point exception) or assertion failure, causing the TMM to crash and restart, resulting in denial of service.

MitigationApply the relevant F5 hotfix or upgrade to a patched version as specified in the F5 advisory. In the interim, consider restricting external access to affected devices or implementing rate limiting on TCP connection attempts.

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
Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:= 10.0.0= 10.0.1= 10.1.0= 10.2.0= 10.2.1= 10.2.2= 11.0.0
Big Ip WebacceleratorApplication
Affected:= 9.4.0= 9.4.1= 9.4.2= 9.4.3= 9.4.4= 9.4.5= 9.4.6= 9.4.7= 9.4.8= 10.0.0= 10.0.1= 10.1.0
Big Ip Local Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:= 10.0.0= 10.0.1= 10.1.0= 10.2.0= 10.2.1= 10.2.2= 11.0.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:= 10.0.0= 10.0.1= 10.1.0= 10.2.0= 10.2.1= 10.2.2= 11.0.0
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:= 10.1.0= 10.2.0= 10.2.1= 10.2.2= 11.0.0
Big Ip Wan Optimization ManagerApplication
Affected:= 10.0.0= 10.0.1= 10.1.0= 10.2.0= 10.2.1= 10.2.2= 11.0.0
Big Ip Edge GatewayWeb browser
Affected:= 10.1.0= 10.2.0= 10.2.1= 10.2.2= 11.0.0
Big Ip Protocol Security ModulePlugin / extension
Affected:= 9.4.5= 9.4.6= 9.4.7= 9.4.8= 10.0.0= 10.0.1= 10.1.0= 10.2.0= 10.2.1= 10.2.2= 10.2.3= 10.2.4

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

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 installed F5 BIG-IP modules
    Run 'tmsh show sys module' or check the F5 management interface for licensed modules. Identify which of these modules are running: Local Traffic Manager (LTM), Application Security Manager (ASM), Access Policy Manager (APM), WebAccelerator, Global Traffic Manager (GTM), WAN Optimization Manager (WOM), Edge Gateway, or Protocol Security Module.
    Affected if Any of the affected modules (LTM, ASM, APM, WebAccelerator, GT M, WOM, Edge Gateway, or Protocol Security Module) are licensed and running.
  2. Check the software version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or view the F5 management interface to obtain the exact software version (for example, 10.0.0, 10.2.2, 11.0.0).
    Affected if The installed version matches any of these: 9.4.0 through 9.4.8, 10.0.0 through 10.2.4, or 11.0.0.
  3. Verify TMM is active
    Confirm the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) process is running using 'tmsh show sys tmm-info' or 'tmsh show sys tmm-stat'. The vulnerability affects TMM handling of TCP connections.
    Affected if TMM is active and processing TCP traffic, which is the default state for affected BIG-IP modules.

If any of the affected F5 BIG-IP modules are running with a version matching 9.4.0-9.4.8, 10.0.0-10.2.4, or 11.0.0, the environment is vulnerable to TMM crashes from this TCP handshake flaw.

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 relevant F5 hotfix or upgrade to a patched version as specified in the F5 advisory. In the interim, consider restricting external access to affected devices or implementing rate limiting on TCP connection attempts.

Fix this in Big Ip Global Traffic Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,440
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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-2013-6016 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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