dbcve.org
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2017-6160

MEDIUM · 5.9 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 →
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 AAM and PEM software version 12.0.0 to 12.1.1, 11.6.0 to 11.6.1, 11.4.1 to 11.5.4, a remote attacker may create maliciously crafted HTTP request to cause Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) to restart and temporarily fail to process traffic. This issue is exposed on virtual servers using a Policy Enforcement profile or a Web Acceleration profile. Systems that do not have BIG-IP AAM module provisioned are not vulnerable. The Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) may restart and temporarily fail to process traffic. Systems that do not have BIG-IP AAM or PEM module provisioned are not vulnerable.

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

A denial of service vulnerability in F5 BIG-IP AAM and PEM where a remote attacker can send a maliciously crafted HTTP request to virtual servers with Policy Enforcement or Web Acceleration profiles, causing the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) to restart and temporarily fail to process traffic.

MitigationApply F5 security patches for affected versions. Alternatively, disable Policy Enforcement and Web Acceleration profiles on affected virtual servers if patching is not immediately feasible. Systems without AAM or PEM modules provisioned are not vulnerable.

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 Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 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
Big Ip Policy Enforcement ManagerApplication
Affected:= 11.4.0= 11.4.1= 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

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. Identify installed BIG-IP version
    Run command: tmsh show sys version or check /etc/product_version
    Affected if Installed version matches 11.4.0, 11.4.1, 11.5.0-11.5.5, 11.6.0-11.6.1, 12.0.0, or 12.1.0
  2. Verify AAM module provisioning
    Run command: tmsh show sys module provisioning | grep -i aam
    Affected if AAM module shows as provisioned (not zero or not present)
  3. Verify PEM module provisioning
    Run command: tmsh show sys module provisioning | grep -i pem
    Affected if PEM module shows as provisioned (not zero or not present)
  4. Check for Policy Enforcement profiles on virtual servers
    Run command: tmsh list ltm virtual all profile contains pem or review virtual server configurations for attached Policy Enforcement profiles
    Affected if Any virtual server has a Policy Enforcement profile enabled
  5. Check for Web Acceleration profiles on virtual servers
    Run command: tmsh list ltm virtual all profile contains wa or review virtual server configurations for attached Web Acceleration profiles
    Affected if Any virtual server has a Web Acceleration profile enabled

Environment is affected if BIG-IP version is one of the listed affected versions AND either AAM or PEM module is provisioned AND at least one virtual server has a Policy Enforcement or Web Acceleration profile enabled.

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

Apply F5 security patches for affected versions. Alternatively, disable Policy Enforcement and Web Acceleration profiles on affected virtual servers if patching is not immediately feasible. Systems without AAM or PEM modules provisioned are not vulnerable.

Fix this in Big Ip Application Acceleration Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,880.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-6160 — 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-2017-6160 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