dbcve.org
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2018-15328

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 13.1.1 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
On BIG-IP 14.0.x, 13.x, 12.x, and 11.x, Enterprise Manager 3.1.1, BIG-IQ 6.x, 5.x, and 4.x, and iWorkflow 2.x, the passphrases for SNMPv3 users and trap destinations that are used for authentication and privacy are not handled by the BIG-IP system Secure Vault feature; they are written in the clear to the various configuration files.

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

On affected F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IQ, Enterprise Manager, and iWorkflow versions, SNMPv3 user passphrases and trap destination credentials used for authentication and privacy are stored in cleartext in configuration files rather than being protected by the system's Secure Vault encryption feature. This exposes sensitive SNMP authentication credentials to anyone with filesystem or backup access.

MitigationReview all SNMPv3 configurations for exposed credentials, rotate all affected passphrases, implement proper file access controls on configuration directories, and apply vendor-provided patches when available to enable Secure Vault protection for SNMP credentials.

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:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0
Big Ip Edge GatewayWeb browser
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0
Big Ip Fraud Protection ServiceApplication
Affected:>= 11.2.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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. Check F5 product version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or 'bigpipe version' to obtain the installed version number
    Affected if The installed version falls within 11.2.1-11.6.3, 12.1.0-12.1.3, 13.0.0-13.1.1, or 14.0.0
  2. Verify SNMPv3 is configured
    Run 'tmsh list snmp' or check for SNMP user definitions with 'tmsh list snmp user'
    Affected if SNMPv3 users or trap destinations are defined in the configuration
  3. Locate SNMP configuration files
    Examine configuration files in /config/snmp/ or run 'tmsh list snmp' to view active SNMP settings
    Affected if SNMP configuration files exist and contain user or trap definitions
  4. Inspect credentials for cleartext storage
    Review the SNMP configuration output and look for passphrase or password fields - check if they appear as plain text strings rather than encrypted values
    Affected if SNMPv3 passphrases or trap destination credentials are visible as cleartext in the configuration output
  5. Verify Secure Vault encryption status
    Check if the SNMP credentials use Secure Vault encryption by examining whether values are encrypted (typically prefixed with $M$ or similar) versus cleartext
    Affected if SNMP credentials are stored in cleartext and NOT protected by Secure Vault encryption

A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable F5 version (11.2.1-11.6.3, 12.1.0-12.1.3, 13.0.0-13.1.1, or 14.0.0) and has SNMPv3 configured with credentials stored in cleartext rather than encrypted via Secure Vault.

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 13.1.1
Interim mitigation

Review all SNMPv3 configurations for exposed credentials, rotate all affected passphrases, implement proper file access controls on configuration directories, and apply vendor-provided patches when available to enable Secure Vault protection for SNMP credentials.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,980
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,168.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-15328 — 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-2018-15328 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