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Big Ip Local Traffic ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2018-15317

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-10-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 14.0.0.2 or later.
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
In BIG-IP 14.0.0-14.0.0.2, 13.0.0-13.1.1.5, 12.1.0-12.1.4.1, and 11.2.1-11.6.3.2, an attacker sending specially crafted SSL records to a SSL Virtual Server will cause corruption in the SSL data structures leading to intermittent decrypt BAD_RECORD_MAC errors. Clients will be unable to access the application load balanced by a virtual server with an SSL profile until tmm is restarted.

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 SSL virtual servers allows remote attackers to send specially crafted SSL records that corrupt SSL data structures in the TMM process, causing intermittent BAD_RECORD_MAC decryption errors and making applications unreachable until TMM is restarted.

MitigationApply the appropriate F5 hotfix or upgrade to a patched BIG-IP version (14.1.0+, 13.1.2+, 12.1.5+, 11.6.4+) as specified in F5 advisory K42323434. Consider implementing SSL/TLS inspection policies to filter malformed SSL records at the edge.

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:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.5.6>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.3.2>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.0.7>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.0.2
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.5.6>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.3.2>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.0.7>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.0.2
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.5.6>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.3.2>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.0.7>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.0.2
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.5.6>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.3.2>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.0.7>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.0.2
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.5.6>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.3.2>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.0.7>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.0.2
Big Ip Protocol Security ModulePlugin / extension
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.5.6>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.3.2>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.0.7>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.0.2
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.5.6>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.3.2>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.0.7>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.0.2
Big Ip Edge GatewayWeb browser
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.5.6>= 11.6.0, <= 11.6.3.2>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.0.7>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.0.2

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. Identify BIG-IP version
    Run `tmsh show /sys version` or check the version file at `/etc/version` to determine the installed BIG-IP version
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 11.2.1-11.5.6, 11.6.0-11.6.3.2, 12.1.0-12.1.3.5, 13.0.0-13.1.0.7, or 14.0.0-14.0.0.2
  2. Locate SSL virtual servers
    Run `tmsh list /ltm virtual all` and look for virtual servers that reference SSL profiles (clientSsl or serverSsl) in their configuration
    Affected if SSL virtual servers are configured and exposed to untrusted network traffic
  3. Review TMM logs for decryption errors
    Check the TMM log at `/var/log/ltm` or run `tmsh show /ltm virtual stats` looking for BAD_RECORD_MAC error messages or high decryption failure counts
    Affected if BAD_RECORD_MAC errors appear in logs or virtual server statistics show abnormal decryption failure rates
  4. Verify TMM process stability
    Run `tmsh show /sys tmm-info` and check for any TMM restarts or instability indicators in the system health status
    Affected if TMM has restarted unexpectedly or shows instability without other known causes

You are affected if your BIG-IP version is within the vulnerable ranges AND you have SSL virtual servers exposed to network traffic, especially if you observe BAD_RECORD_MAC errors or unexplained TMM instability.

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 14.0.0.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate F5 hotfix or upgrade to a patched BIG-IP version (14.1.0+, 13.1.2+, 12.1.5+, 11.6.4+) as specified in F5 advisory K42323434. Consider implementing SSL/TLS inspection policies to filter malformed SSL records at the edge.

Fix this in Big Ip Local Traffic Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,970
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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-2018-15317 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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