dbcve.org
Big Iq SecurityApplication · F5

CVE-2016-2084

HIGH · 7.4 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-04-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
83/100
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
F5 BIG-IP LTM, AFM, Analytics, APM, ASM, Link Controller, and PEM 11.3.x, 11.4.x before 11.4.1 build 685-HF10, 11.5.1 before build 10.104.180, 11.5.2 before 11.5.4 build 0.1.256, 11.6.0 before build 6.204.442, and 12.0.0 before build 1.14.628; BIG-IP AAM 11.4.x before 11.4.1 build 685-HF10, 11.5.1 before build 10.104.180, 11.5.2 before 11.5.4 build 0.1.256, 11.6.0 before build 6.204.442, and 12.0.0 before build 1.14.628; BIG-IP DNS 12.0.0 before build 1.14.628; BIG-IP Edge Gateway, WebAccelerator, and WOM 11.3.0; BIG-IP GTM 11.3.x, 11.4.x before 11.4.1 build 685-HF10, 11.5.1 before build 10.104.180, 11.5.2 before 11.5.4 build 0.1.256, and 11.6.0 before build 6.204.442; BIG-IP PSM 11.3.x and 11.4.x before 11.4.1 build 685-HF10; BIG-IQ Cloud, Device, and Security 4.2.0 through 4.5.0; and BIG-IQ ADC 4.5.0 do not properly regenerate certificates and keys when deploying cloud images in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure or Verizon cloud services environments, which allows attackers to obtain sensitive information or cause a denial of service (disruption) by leveraging a target instance configuration.

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 products (LTM, AFM, Analytics, APM, ASM, Link Controller, PEM, AAM, DNS, GTM, PSM, and BIG-IQ) fail to regenerate SSL certificates and keys when deploying pre-built cloud images in AWS, Azure, or Verizon cloud environments. This results in default or duplicate cryptographic material being used across deployments, allowing attackers to obtain sensitive information through exposure of shared keys or cause service disruption.

MitigationDeploy updated F5 cloud images that properly regenerate unique certificates and keys during initialization, or manually regenerate all SSL certificates and keys on affected BIG-IP instances deployed in AWS, Azure, or Verizon cloud environments.

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 Iq SecurityApplication
Affected:= 4.2.0= 4.3.0= 4.4.0= 4.5.0
Big Ip WebacceleratorApplication
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= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 12.0.0
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= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 12.0.0
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= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 12.0.0
Big Iq CloudApplication
Affected:= 4.2.0= 4.3.0= 4.4.0= 4.5.0
Big Iq Application Delivery ControllerApplication
Affected:= 4.5.0
Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.3.0= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.6.0

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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 cloud deployment environment
    Determine if the F5 BIG-IP instance was deployed from a pre-built image in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Verizon Cloud. Check the cloud provider console or instance metadata for the source image ID.
    Affected if The instance was launched from a pre-built F5 cloud image in AWS, Azure, or Verizon.
  2. Check installed F5 product version
    Run command: tmsh show /sys version. This displays the installed BIG-IP version, build number, and edition.
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the affected versions listed (e.g., 11.3.0-11.6.0, 12.0.0 for ASM/APM/PEM/GTM; 4.2.0-4.5.0 for BIG-IQ).
  3. Locate SSL certificate and key files
    Access the F5 configuration via tmsh or shell. SSL certificates are typically stored under /config/ssl/ssl.crt/ and keys under /config/ssl/ssl.key/. List contents of these directories.
    Affected if Certificate and key files exist in the default location and were not manually regenerated after deployment.
  4. Compare certificates to known defaults
    Examine certificate details using: tmsh list /sys file ssl-cert <cert-name> or openssl x509 -in <certfile> -text -noout. Compare the serial number, subject, and fingerprint against other instances deployed from the same cloud image.
    Affected if Multiple instances share identical certificate serial numbers, subject strings, or fingerprints, indicating default cryptographic material.
  5. Verify key uniqueness across deployments
    Compare the modulus of SSL private keys using: openssl rsa -in <keyfile> -modulus -noout. If different instances have identical modulus values, they share the same key pair.
    Affected if Different BIG-IP instances in the same cloud environment show identical key modulus values, confirming duplicate cryptographic material.

A defender is affected if the BIG-IP instance was deployed from a pre-built cloud image in AWS, Azure, or Verizon, runs an affected version (11.3.0-12.0.0 or 4.2.0-4.5.0 depending on product), and uses default or duplicate SSL certificates/keys identical to other deployments.

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

Deploy updated F5 cloud images that properly regenerate unique certificates and keys during initialization, or manually regenerate all SSL certificates and keys on affected BIG-IP instances deployed in AWS, Azure, or Verizon cloud environments.

Fix this in Big Iq Security Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-2084 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2016-2084 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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