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Big Ip Local Traffic ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2016-7474

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-03-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
In some cases the MCPD binary cache in F5 BIG-IP devices may allow a user with Advanced Shell access, or privileges to generate a qkview, to temporarily obtain normally unrecoverable information.

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

F5 BIG-IP devices contain an information disclosure vulnerability in the MCPD (Multi-Process Daemon) binary cache. A user with Advanced Shell access or privileges to generate a qkview diagnostic file can temporarily access information that would normally be unrecoverable. This appears to be a local privilege escalation/information disclosure issue rather than a remote vulnerability.

MitigationRestrict Advanced Shell (bash) access to only necessary personnel, limit qkview generation privileges, and apply F5 software updates when available. Review user access controls on affected BIG-IP devices.

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:= 11.2.1= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:= 11.2.1= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.2.1= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.2.1= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1
Big Ip Link ControllerApplication
Affected:= 11.2.1= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 installed BIG-IP product and version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or check the web UI under System > Software > Image
    Affected if The installed version matches any of the listed affected versions (11.2.1, 11.4.0, 11.4.1, 11.5.0-11.5.4, 11.6.0-11.6.1, 12.0.0-12.1.1 depending on module)
  2. Determine if Advanced Shell (bash) access is granted to any users
    Review user accounts in Access Policy Manager or run 'tmsh list auth user' to list all users and their shell access settings
    Affected if Any user account has '/bin/bash' or 'Advanced Shell' as the login shell
  3. Verify which users can generate qkview diagnostic files
    Check user roles and privileges via 'tmsh list auth user' or review the administrative user list in the web UI under User Management
    Affected if Any user has privileges to run the qkview utility (typically 'admin' or custom roles with diagnostic access)
  4. Confirm the MCPD daemon is running
    Run 'tmsh show sys mcpd' or 'ps aux | grep mcpd' to verify the Multi-Process Daemon is active
    Affected if The MCPD process is running (this is the component containing the vulnerable cache)

You are affected if your BIG-IP version matches any listed affected version AND any user has Advanced Shell access or qkview generation privileges.

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

Restrict Advanced Shell (bash) access to only necessary personnel, limit qkview generation privileges, and apply F5 software updates when available. Review user access controls on affected BIG-IP devices.

Fix this in Big Ip Local Traffic Manager 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
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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-2016-7474 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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