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Big Ip Local Traffic ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2017-0303

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-10-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
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
In F5 BIG-IP LTM, AAM, AFM, Analytics, APM, ASM, DNS, GTM, Link Controller, PEM and Websafe software version 13.0.0, 12.0.0 to 12.1.2 and 11.5.1 to 11.6.1, under limited circumstances connections handled by a Virtual Server with an associated SOCKS profile may not be properly cleaned up, potentially leading to resource starvation. Connections may be left in the connection table which then can only be removed by restarting TMM. Over time this may lead to the BIG-IP being unable to process further connections.

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

In F5 BIG-IP, connections handled by Virtual Servers with SOCKS profiles may not be properly cleaned up under certain circumstances, causing them to remain in the connection table indefinitely. These orphaned connections can only be removed by restarting the TMM (Traffic Management Module), and accumulation over time leads to resource exhaustion and the BIG-IP being unable to process new connections.

MitigationUpgrade F5 BIG-IP to a patched version beyond 13.0.0, 12.1.2, or 11.6.1. Until upgrade is possible, monitor connection table usage and consider avoiding SOCKS profile usage on production Virtual Servers.

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:= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.5.5= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.5.5= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.5.5= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.5.5= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.5.5= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Link ControllerApplication
Affected:= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.5.5= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Policy Enforcement ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.5.5= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip WebsafeApplication
Affected:= 1.0.0

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/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. Check BIG-IP version
    Run `tmsh show /sys version` or view System > Software Management in the web UI to confirm the installed version.
    Affected if The version is 11.5.0, 11.5.1, 11.5.2, 11.5.3, 11.5.4, 11.5.5, 11.6.0, 11.6.1, 12.0.0, 12.1.0, 12.1.1, or 12.1.2.
  2. Identify SOCKS profiles in use
    Run `tmsh list /ltm socks all-profiles` to list all SOCKS profiles configured on the system.
    Affected if Any SOCKS profiles exist on the system.
  3. Check Virtual Servers using SOCKS profiles
    Run `tmsh list /ltm virtual all-properties | grep -A 5 socks` to find Virtual Servers that reference a SOCKS profile.
    Affected if Any Virtual Server has a SOCKS profile assigned.
  4. Monitor connection table for orphaned connections
    Run `tmsh show /ltm connection static` or use the web UI under Statistics > Local Traffic > Connections to observe connection counts.
    Affected if Connection counts are unusually high and do not decrease over time despite low traffic.
  5. Check TMM memory usage
    Run `tmsh show /ltm virtual` and review the memory consumption or run `tmsh show /sys tmm-stat` to check TMM memory utilization.
    Affected if Memory usage is abnormally high with no clear explanation from legitimate traffic.

You are affected if your BIG-IP version is between 11.5.0 and 12.1.2 inclusive AND you have Virtual Servers configured with SOCKS profiles, especially if connection table usage is growing abnormally.

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 a patched version beyond 13.0.0, 12.1.2, or 11.6.1. Until upgrade is possible, monitor connection table usage and consider avoiding SOCKS profile usage on production Virtual Servers.

Fix this in Big Ip Local Traffic Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2017-0303 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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