Big Ip Local Traffic ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2017-6140

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-12-21
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
On the BIG-IP 2000s, 2200s, 4000s, 4200v, i5600, i5800, i7600, i7800, i10600,i10800, and VIPRION 4450 blades, running version 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 or 12.1.2 of BIG-IP LTM, AAM, AFM, Analytics, ASM, DNS, GTM or PEM, an undisclosed sequence of packets sent to Virtual Servers with client or server SSL profiles may cause disruption of data plane services.

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 vulnerability where an undisclosed sequence of packets sent to Virtual Servers configured with client or server SSL profiles causes disruption of data plane services. The attack targets the SSL processing path, leading to potential denial of service on affected hardware models (2000s through i10800 and VIPRION 4450).

MitigationUpgrade BIG-IP to a version beyond 12.1.2 (or apply available hotfixes), and consider implementing rate-limiting or ACL filters on upstream devices to block malicious packet sequences targeting SSL virtual servers until patching is complete.

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= 11.6.0= 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= 11.6.0= 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= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:= 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= 12.1.2
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2
Big Ip DnsApplication
Affected:= 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= 12.1.2
Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:= 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= 12.1.2
Big Ip Policy Enforcement ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 11.6.0= 11.6.1= 12.0.0= 12.1.0= 12.1.1= 12.1.2

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. Determine the installed BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show /sys version' on the command line or check the version displayed in the BIG-IP Configuration utility under System > Software Management > Hotfix ISO Images
    Affected if The version listed is 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, or 12.1.2
  2. Identify virtual servers configured with SSL profiles
    Run 'tmsh list /ltm virtual' to list all virtual servers, then examine each virtual server's 'profiles' section to identify if client-ssl or server-ssl profiles are attached
    Affected if Any virtual server is configured with a client-ssl or server-ssl profile in the affected version range
  3. Check for active client-ssl profiles
    Run 'tmsh list /ltm profile client-ssl all-properties' to list all client SSL profiles configured on the system
    Affected if Any client-ssl profiles exist on the device in the affected version range
  4. Check for active server-ssl profiles
    Run 'tmsh list /ltm profile server-ssl all-properties' to list all server SSL profiles configured on the system
    Affected if Any server-ssl profiles exist on the device in the affected version range
  5. Confirm hardware model is within affected range
    Run 'tmsh show /sys hardware' or check the hardware label on the physical device to identify the model number
    Affected if The hardware model is one of the 2000s series through i10800, or a VIPRION 4450

The environment is affected if BIG-IP is running version 11.5.0-12.1.2 AND has virtual servers with client-ssl or server-ssl profiles AND the hardware model is a 2000s through i10800 or VIPRION 4450.

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 BIG-IP to a version beyond 12.1.2 (or apply available hotfixes), and consider implementing rate-limiting or ACL filters on upstream devices to block malicious packet sequences targeting SSL virtual servers until patching is complete.

Fix this in Big Ip Local Traffic Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2017-6140 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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