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Big Ip Local Traffic ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2017-6137

MEDIUM · 5.9 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 →
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
In F5 BIG-IP LTM, AAM, AFM, Analytics, APM, ASM, DNS, Edge Gateway, GTM, Link Controller, PEM, PSM, WebAccelerator, and WebSafe 11.6.1 HF1, 12.0.0 HF3, 12.0.0 HF4, and 12.1.0 through 12.1.2, undisclosed traffic patterns received while software SYN cookie protection is engaged may cause a disruption of service to the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) on specific platforms and configurations.

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

In affected F5 BIG-IP products (11.6.1 HF1, 12.0.0-12.0.0 HF4, 12.1.0-12.1.2), specific undisclosed traffic patterns received while software-based SYN cookie protection is enabled can cause disruption or unavailability of the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) on certain platforms and configurations, resulting in a denial-of-service condition.

MitigationUpgrade to a F5-supported version that addresses this vulnerability, or consider switching from software-based SYN cookie protection to hardware-based SYN cookies if upgrading is not immediately feasible.

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:= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.6.1

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. Check BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show /sys version' or 'tmsh list /sys version' to display the installed software version
    Affected if The version displayed is 11.6.1, 12.0.0, 12.0.0 HF1-HF4, 12.1.0, 12.1.1, or 12.1.2
  2. Identify TCP profiles in use
    Run 'tmsh list /ltm profile tcp' to list all configured TCP profiles on the system
    Affected if One or more TCP profiles exist on the system
  3. Check for software-based SYN cookie protection
    Run 'tmsh list /ltm profile tcp <profile_name>' for each TCP profile and look for the 'syn-cookie-enabled' setting. Software-based SYN cookies are enabled when 'syn-cookie-enabled' is set to 'enabled' and hardware SYN cookies are not in use
    Affected if Any TCP profile has syn-cookie-enabled set to 'enabled' and the profile is associated with virtual servers processing traffic
  4. Verify affected virtual servers
    Run 'tmsh list /ltm virtual' to identify virtual servers using the affected TCP profiles. Check which virtual servers reference the TCP profiles with SYN cookies enabled
    Affected if Virtual servers are using TCP profiles with software-based SYN cookie protection enabled

You are affected if your BIG-IP runs version 11.6.1, 12.0.0-12.0.0 HF4, or 12.1.0-12.1.2 AND has software-based SYN cookie protection enabled on any TCP profile used by active 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 to a F5-supported version that addresses this vulnerability, or consider switching from software-based SYN cookie protection to hardware-based SYN cookies if upgrading is not immediately feasible.

Fix this in Big Ip Local Traffic Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,980
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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-2017-6137 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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