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Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2015-6546

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-11-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
66/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 vCMP host in F5 BIG-IP Analytics, APM, ASM, GTM, Link Controller, and LTM 11.0.0 before 11.6.0, BIG-IP AAM 11.4.0 before 11.6.0, BIG-IP AFM and PEM 11.3.0 before 11.6.0, BIG-IP Edge Gateway, WebAccelerator, and WOM 11.0.0 through 11.3.0, BIG-IP PSM 11.0.0 through 11.4.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via "malicious traffic."

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 · moderate confidence

The vCMP (virtual Clustered Multiprocessing) host component in multiple F5 BIG-IP product lines fails to properly handle malicious traffic, allowing remote unauthenticated attackers to trigger a denial of service condition. The vulnerability affects the hypervisor layer that manages virtual instances, potentially impacting all hosted virtual servers.

MitigationUpgrade affected F5 BIG-IP products to version 11.6.0 or later. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, consider restricting network access to the management interface and implementing rate limiting on perimeter devices to reduce attack surface.

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 Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3
Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.0.0= 11.1.0= 11.2.0= 11.2.1= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.0.0= 11.1.0= 11.2.0= 11.2.1= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3
Big Ip WebacceleratorApplication
Affected:= 11.0.0= 11.1.0= 11.2.0= 11.2.1= 11.3.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.0.0= 11.1.0= 11.2.0= 11.2.1= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3
Big Ip Policy Enforcement ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3
Big Ip Wan Optimization ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.0.0= 11.1.0= 11.2.0= 11.2.1= 11.3.0
Big Ip Protocol Security ModulePlugin / extension
Affected:= 11.0.0= 11.1.0= 11.2.0= 11.2.1= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Complete

AV:A/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. Verify if vCMP is enabled
    On the F5 BIG-IP command line, run 'tmsh show vcmp info' or check the vCMP configuration via the web UI under iControl > System > vCMP. Look for the vCMP host and guest status.
    Affected if vCMP is enabled and running guests - the vulnerability exists in the vCMP hypervisor layer that manages virtual instances.
  2. Check the BIG-IP base version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or 'bigpipe version' from the command line. Alternatively, check the System > Overview page in the web UI.
    Affected if The installed version matches any of the affected versions listed: 11.0.0, 11.1.0, 11.2.0, 11.2.1, 11.3.0, 11.4.0, 11.4.1, 11.5.0, 11.5.1, 11.5.2, or 11.5.3.
  3. Identify installed modules and their versions
    Run 'tmsh list sys module' to list all installed modules. Check each module's version via 'tmsh show sys module <module-name>' or the web UI under System > Software > Images.
    Affected if Any of the following modules are installed at the affected versions: Application Acceleration Manager (11.4.0-11.5.3), Global Traffic Manager (11.0.0-11.5.3), Access Policy Manager (11.0.0-11.5.3), Webaccelerator (11.0.0-11.3.0), Application Security Manager (11.0.0-11.5.3), Policy Enforcement Manag
  4. Check for vCMP-related crash logs
    Run 'tmsh show sys crash' or review /var/log/ltm for crash entries related to vCMP host component failures.
    Affected if Crash logs indicate vCMP host or hypervisor failures that could be related to this vulnerability.

A system is affected if vCMP is enabled and running on a BIG-IP version between 11.0.0 and 11.5.3, particularly with any of the vulnerable modules installed.

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

Upgrade affected F5 BIG-IP products to version 11.6.0 or later. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, consider restricting network access to the management interface and implementing rate limiting on perimeter devices to reduce attack surface.

Fix this in Big Ip Application Acceleration Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2015-6546 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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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