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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2018-15316

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-10-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7160 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 APM 13.0.0-13.1.1.1, APM Client 7.1.5-7.1.6, and/or Edge Client 7101-7160, the BIG-IP APM Edge Client component loads the policy library with user permission and bypassing the endpoint checks.

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

The BIG-IP APM Edge Client component loads the policy library with user-level permissions rather than elevated/system privileges, and it bypasses endpoint security checks. This creates a local privilege escalation and security bypass vulnerability where a local user could potentially exploit the client to gain unauthorized access or bypass endpoint protections.

MitigationApply F5-provided patches or hotfixes for BIG-IP APM 13.1.1.2 or later, and upgrade APM Client to version 7.1.7+ and Edge Client to version 7161 or later. Restrict local access to systems running the vulnerable client software until patches are applied.

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 Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1.1
Big Ip Access Policy Manager ClientApplication
Affected:>= 7.1.5, <= 7.1.6
Big Ip Edge ClientWeb browser
Affected:>= 7101, <= 7160

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

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 F5 Big-IP Edge Client version
    On Windows, check Programs and Features or registry for 'F5 Big-IP Edge Client' and note the installed version. On macOS, check /Applications for F5 Edge Client.app and get version info.
    Affected if Installed version is between 7101 and 7160 inclusive
  2. Identify installed F5 APM Client version
    Check installed programs for 'F5 Big-IP Access Policy Manager Client' or 'F5 APM Client' and note the version number.
    Affected if Installed version is between 7.1.5 and 7.1.6 inclusive
  3. Identify installed BIG-IP APM version
    If this is the BIG-IP APM server itself, check the system version via 'tmsh show sys version' command or the web management interface under System > Software Management.
    Affected if Installed APM version is between 13.0.0 and 13.1.1.1 inclusive
  4. Verify presence of policy library component
    Check for the existence of the F5 client policy library directory or files on the endpoint, typically found in the client installation folder or user AppData directory.
    Affected if The policy library files exist and the client software with a vulnerable version is installed
  5. Confirm client is running with user-level permissions
    Observe the running processes for F5 Edge Client or APM Client and check the process privileges. If the client loads policy libraries without requiring elevation, this indicates the vulnerable behavior.
    Affected if The client process runs without elevated privileges while loading the policy library

A system is affected if any F5 Edge Client (7101-7160), APM Client (7.1.5-7.1.6), or BIG-IP APM (13.0.0-13.1.1.1) with the vulnerable version range is installed and the policy library component is present.

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 7160
Interim mitigation

Apply F5-provided patches or hotfixes for BIG-IP APM 13.1.1.2 or later, and upgrade APM Client to version 7.1.7+ and Edge Client to version 7161 or later. Restrict local access to systems running the vulnerable client software until patches are applied.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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-2018-15316 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