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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2015-8099

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-05-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
F5 BIG-IP LTM, AFM, Analytics, APM, ASM, Link Controller, and PEM 11.3.x, 11.4.x before 11.4.1 HF10, 11.5.x before 11.5.4, 11.6.x before 11.6.1, and 12.x before 12.0.0 HF1; BIG-IP AAM 11.4.x before 11.4.1 HF10, 11.5.x before 11.5.4, 11.6.x before 11.6.1, and 12.x before 12.0.0 HF1; BIG-IP DNS 12.x before 12.0.0 HF1; BIG-IP Edge Gateway, WebAccelerator, and WOM 11.3.0; BIG-IP GTM 11.3.x, 11.4.x before 11.4.1 HF10, 11.5.x before 11.5.4, and 11.6.x before 11.6.1; BIG-IP PSM 11.3.x and 11.4.x before 11.4.1 HF10; Enterprise Manager 3.0.0 through 3.1.1; BIG-IQ Cloud and BIG-IQ Security 4.0.0 through 4.5.0; BIG-IQ Device 4.2.0 through 4.5.0; BIG-IQ ADC 4.5.0; BIG-IQ Centralized Management 4.6.0; and BIG-IQ Cloud and Orchestration 1.0.0 on the 3900, 6900, 8900, 8950, 11000, 11050, PB100 and PB200 platforms, when software SYN cookies are configured on virtual servers, allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (High-Speed Bridge hang) via an invalid TCP segment.

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 devices with software SYN cookies enabled on virtual servers are vulnerable to a denial of service condition. An invalid TCP segment sent to the device can cause the High-Speed Bridge to hang, resulting in service disruption. The attack is network-based and requires no authentication.

MitigationUpgrade F5 BIG-IP to the specified hotfix versions (11.4.1 HF10, 11.5.4, 11.6.1, or 12.0.0 HF1) or later. Alternatively, if software SYN cookies are not required, disabling them may mitigate the issue.

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 Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.6.0= 12.0.0
Big Ip Wan Optimization ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.3.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.6.0= 12.0.0
Big Ip Link ControllerApplication
Affected:= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.6.0= 12.0.0
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.6.0= 12.0.0
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.6.0= 12.0.0
Big Ip Protocol Security ModulePlugin / extension
Affected:= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1
Big Iq DeviceApplication
Affected:= 4.2.0= 4.3.0= 4.4.0= 4.5.0

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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 F5 BIG-IP software version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' on the command line or check the version via the BIG-IP Configuration utility under System > Software Management > ISO Image. Compare the base software version to the affected ranges (11.3.0, 11.4.0, 11.4.1, 11.5.0 through 11.5.3, 11.6.0, 12.0.0).
    Affected if The installed version matches any of the listed affected versions.
  2. Confirm F5 module is installed
    Run 'tmsh list sys provision' to list all provisioned modules (APM, ASM, LC, AFM, Analytics, PSM, WOM). Check if any of the affected modules are provisioned on the device.
    Affected if Any of the affected modules (APM, WOM, ASM, LC, AFM, Analytics, PSM, or BIG-IQ) are provisioned and the version matches the affected list.
  3. Verify software SYN cookies are enabled
    Run 'tmsh list ltm virtual all' to list all virtual servers. Search for 'syn-cookie enabled' or 'syn-cookie' configuration under each virtual server profile. Software SYN cookies are distinct from hardware SYN cookies.
    Affected if Any virtual server has software SYN cookies explicitly enabled in its configuration.
  4. Check virtual server profiles for SYN cookie settings
    Examine specific virtual server profiles with 'tmsh list ltm virtual <name> profile' to determine if the associated profile has SYN cookie protection enabled.
    Affected if The virtual server profile shows software-based SYN cookie protection is active.

The device is affected if it runs any of the listed F5 module versions (11.3.0 through 12.0.0) AND has software SYN cookies enabled on one or more virtual servers.

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 F5 BIG-IP to the specified hotfix versions (11.4.1 HF10, 11.5.4, 11.6.1, or 12.0.0 HF1) or later. Alternatively, if software SYN cookies are not required, disabling them may mitigate the issue.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy 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-2015-8099 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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