dbcve.org
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2017-0302

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-05-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 F5 BIG-IP APM 12.0.0 through 12.1.2 and 13.0.0, an authenticated user with an established access session to the BIG-IP APM system may be able to cause a traffic disruption if the length of the requested URL is less than 16 characters.

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 APM contains a denial-of-service vulnerability where an authenticated user with an established access session can cause traffic disruption by requesting URLs with a length of less than 16 characters. The vulnerability stems from improper URL handling in the APM module.

MitigationUpgrade F5 BIG-IP APM to a version beyond 13.0.0 and 12.1.2 (or apply available hotfixes) to resolve the vulnerability. Until patched, monitor for unusual APM session activity and short URL requests.

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:= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2= 13.0.0

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/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. Verify APM module is enabled
    Check if the Access Policy Manager module is loaded and active on the BIG-IP device. This can typically be verified through the BIG-IP configuration utility under Module Setup or via the tmsh command 'list sys module' to list all loaded modules.
    Affected if APM module is present and enabled in the BIG-IP configuration.
  2. Determine installed APM version
    Use the BIG-IP configuration utility or command line to retrieve the exact APM version. In tmsh, run 'show sys version' or check the APM-specific version under Access Policy Manager > Overview. Compare the version number to the affected list: 12.0.0, 12.1.0, 12.1.1, 12.1.2, 13.0.0.
    Affected if The installed APM version exactly matches one of the listed affected versions.
  3. Check for active authenticated APM sessions
    Review active APM sessions through the configuration utility under Access Policy Manager > Sessions or use tmsh command 'show apm session all' to list current authenticated sessions.
    Affected if There are authenticated users with active APM access sessions currently established.
  4. Inspect APM logs for crash events or errors
    Examine the APM log files (typically in /var/log/apm) or through the configuration utility for recent crash reports,segmentation faults, or service disruptions. Look for timestamps correlating with short URL requests.
    Affected if APM crash logs, segmentation faults, or denial-of-service events are present in the logs.
  5. Review URL request patterns
    Check APM access logs or traffic logs for recent requests with URLs shorter than 16 characters. Filter logs for unusual patterns of short-path requests that could indicate exploitation attempts.
    Affected if There is a pattern of requests for URLs less than 16 characters in length hitting the APM module.

A user is affected if APM is enabled, the installed version exactly matches 12.0.0, 12.1.0, 12.1.1, 12.1.2, or 13.0.0, and there are active authenticated sessions that could trigger the short URL denial-of-service condition.

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 APM to a version beyond 13.0.0 and 12.1.2 (or apply available hotfixes) to resolve the vulnerability. Until patched, monitor for unusual APM session activity and short URL requests.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-0302 — 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-2017-0302 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