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Big Ip Local Traffic ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2017-6164

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-12-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 12.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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, WebAccelerator and WebSafe software version 13.0.0, 12.0.0 - 12.1.2, 11.6.0 - 11.6.1 and 11.5.0 - 11.5.4, in some circumstances, Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) does not properly handle certain malformed TLS1.2 records, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) or possible remote command execution on the BIG-IP system.

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

The vulnerability exists in F5 BIG-IP's Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM), which fails to properly handle certain malformed TLS 1.2 records. This processing error can be exploited by remote attackers sending specially crafted TLS1.2 packets, potentially leading to denial of service or remote command execution on affected BIG-IP systems.

MitigationUpgrade F5 BIG-IP software to patched versions (13.1.0+, 12.1.3+, 11.6.2+, 11.5.5+) and apply available hotfixes. Consider implementing TLS inspection controls and rate limiting as interim measures.

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:>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.1>= 12.0.0, <= 12.1.2= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 13.0.0
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.1>= 12.0.0, <= 12.1.2= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 13.0.0
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.1>= 12.0.0, <= 12.1.2= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 13.0.0
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.1>= 12.0.0, <= 12.1.2= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 13.0.0
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.1>= 12.0.0, <= 12.1.2= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 13.0.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.1>= 12.0.0, <= 12.1.2= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 13.0.0
Big Ip DnsApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.1>= 12.0.0, <= 12.1.2= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 13.0.0
Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.1>= 12.0.0, <= 12.1.2= 11.5.0= 11.5.1= 11.5.2= 11.5.3= 11.5.4= 13.0.0

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 the installed BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show /sys version' or 'bigpipe version' from the command line to retrieve the software version
    Affected if The version falls within 11.5.0-11.5.4, 11.6.0-11.6.1, 12.0.0-12.1.2, or 13.0.0
  2. Confirm the BIG-IP module or product name
    Run 'tmsh show /sys product' or check the installed module list via 'tmsh list sys module'
    Affected if The system is running any of: Local Traffic Manager, Application Acceleration Manager, Advanced Firewall Manager, Analytics, Access Policy Manager, Application Security Manager, Dns, or Global Traffic Manager
  3. Verify TLS 1.2 profile configuration
    Run 'tmsh list /ltm profile client-ssl' and 'tmsh list /ltm profile server-ssl' to list SSL profiles, then inspect each profile with 'tmsh show /ltm profile client-ssl <profile_name>' to check if TLS 1.2 is enabled
    Affected if TLS 1.2 is enabled in any client-ssl or server-ssl profile (look for 'tls version 1.2' or 'version { tls1.2 }' in the configuration)
  4. Check if TMM is processing TLS traffic
    Review the SSL profiles attached to virtual servers by running 'tmsh list /ltm virtual' and examining which SSL profiles are assigned
    Affected if Virtual servers are using SSL profiles with TLS 1.2 enabled, meaning TMM is processing vulnerable TLS 1.2 traffic

The environment is affected if the installed BIG-IP version matches one of the affected ranges (11.5.x, 11.6.0-11.6.1, 12.0.0-12.1.2, or 13.0.0) AND TLS 1.2 profiles are configured on the system.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 12.1.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade F5 BIG-IP software to patched versions (13.1.0+, 12.1.3+, 11.6.2+, 11.5.5+) and apply available hotfixes. Consider implementing TLS inspection controls and rate limiting as interim measures.

Fix this in Big Ip Local Traffic Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,600
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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-2017-6164 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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