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Big Ip Local Traffic ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2014-4024

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2018-03-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 11.5.1 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
SSL virtual servers in F5 BIG-IP systems 10.x before 10.2.4 HF9, 11.x before 11.2.1 HF12, 11.3.0 before HF10, 11.4.0 before HF8, 11.4.1 before HF5, 11.5.0 before HF5, and 11.5.1 before HF5, when used with third-party Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) accelerator cards, might allow remote attackers to have unspecified impact via a timing side-channel attack.

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

F5 BIG-IP SSL virtual servers using third-party SSL accelerator cards are vulnerable to timing side-channel attacks. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to potentially extract sensitive information (such as private keys or plaintext) by analyzing timing differences in cryptographic operations. This affects multiple versions across the 10.x and 11.x product lines.

MitigationApply the appropriate F5 hotfixes (10.2.4 HF9, 11.2.1 HF12, 11.3.0 HF10, 11.4.0 HF8, 11.4.1 HF5, 11.5.0 HF5, or 11.5.1 HF5) to all affected BIG-IP devices. Alternatively, disable third-party SSL accelerator cards or ensure proper configuration to minimize timing variations.

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 Local Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 10.0.0, <= 10.2.4>= 11.0.0, <= 11.5.1
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.4.0, <= 11.5.1
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.3.0, <= 11.5.1
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.0.0, <= 11.5.1
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 10.1.0, <= 10.2.4>= 11.0.0, <= 11.5.1
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 10.0.0, <= 10.2.4>= 11.0.0, <= 11.5.1
Big Ip Edge GatewayWeb browser
Affected:>= 10.1.0, <= 10.2.4>= 11.0.0, <= 11.3.0
Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 10.0.0, <= 10.2.4>= 11.0.0, <= 11.5.1

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 the F5 BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or check the BIG-IP version through the web interface under System > Software Management > Image List
    Affected if The version falls within 10.0.0-10.2.4, 11.0.0-11.5.1, or specific subranges for certain modules (11.3.0-11.5.1 for AFM, 11.4.0-11.5.1 for AAM)
  2. Confirm third-party SSL accelerator cards are in use
    Check the hardware inventory or run 'tmsh show sys hardware' to list SSL accelerator cards. Look for non-F5 third-party SSL cards in the hardware configuration
    Affected if Third-party (non-F5) SSL accelerator cards are present and active in the system
  3. Identify SSL virtual servers
    Run 'tmsh list ltm virtual' to list all virtual servers, then filter for those with SSL profile type (profile-type ssl)
    Affected if SSL virtual servers exist on the BIG-IP device using the affected configuration
  4. Check SSL profile configuration
    Run 'tmsh list ltm profile client-ssl' and 'tmsh list ltm profile server-ssl' to view SSL profile details and identify which virtual servers use them
    Affected if SSL profiles are configured and assigned to virtual servers, enabling SSL termination with the accelerator cards

The environment is affected if the BIG-IP version is within the affected ranges AND third-party SSL accelerator cards are in use with SSL virtual servers configured.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 11.5.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate F5 hotfixes (10.2.4 HF9, 11.2.1 HF12, 11.3.0 HF10, 11.4.0 HF8, 11.4.1 HF5, 11.5.0 HF5, or 11.5.1 HF5) to all affected BIG-IP devices. Alternatively, disable third-party SSL accelerator cards or ensure proper configuration to minimize timing variations.

Fix this in Big Ip Local Traffic Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.

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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-2014-4024 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data