CVE-2017-6140
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 · uneditedOn 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 confidenceF5 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).
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= 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= 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= 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= 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= 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= 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= 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= 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= 12.1.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine the installed BIG-IP versionRun '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 ImagesAffected 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
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Identify virtual servers configured with SSL profilesRun '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 attachedAffected if Any virtual server is configured with a client-ssl or server-ssl profile in the affected version range
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Check for active client-ssl profilesRun 'tmsh list /ltm profile client-ssl all-properties' to list all client SSL profiles configured on the systemAffected if Any client-ssl profiles exist on the device in the affected version range
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Check for active server-ssl profilesRun 'tmsh list /ltm profile server-ssl all-properties' to list all server SSL profiles configured on the systemAffected if Any server-ssl profiles exist on the device in the affected version range
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Confirm hardware model is within affected rangeRun 'tmsh show /sys hardware' or check the hardware label on the physical device to identify the model numberAffected 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.
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 dataUpgrade 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.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-6140 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-6140 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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