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Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2018-5523

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-06-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 12.1.3 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 F5 BIG-IP 13.1.0-13.1.0.3, 13.0.0, 12.1.0-12.1.3.1, 11.6.1-11.6.3.1, 11.5.1-11.5.5, or 11.2.1 and Enterprise Manager 3.1.1, when authenticated administrative users run commands in the Traffic Management User Interface (TMUI), also referred to as the BIG-IP Configuration utility, restrictions on allowed commands may not be enforced.

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

F5 BIG-IP and Enterprise Manager contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the Traffic Management User Interface (TMUI) where command restrictions for authenticated administrative users are not properly enforced, allowing privileged users to execute commands outside their authorized scope.

MitigationApply the appropriate F5 hotfix for the affected version (13.1.0.4+, 12.1.3.2+, 11.6.3.2+, 11.5.6+, 11.2.1.4+) and review administrative role assignments to ensure least-privilege principles.

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:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.5.5>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3= 11.2.1= 13.0.0= 13.1.0
Big Ip Local Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.5.5>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3= 11.2.1= 13.0.0= 13.1.0
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.5.5>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3= 11.2.1= 13.0.0= 13.1.0
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.5.5>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3= 11.2.1= 13.0.0= 13.1.0
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.5.5>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3= 11.2.1= 13.0.0= 13.1.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.5.5>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3= 11.2.1= 13.0.0= 13.1.0
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.5.5>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3= 11.2.1= 13.0.0= 13.1.0
Big Ip Edge GatewayWeb browser
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.5.5>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.3>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.3= 11.2.1= 13.0.0= 13.1.0

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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. Determine BIG-IP version
    Run `tmsh show /sys version` on the command line, or log into the web UI and check System > Software Management > ISO Image (or the About screen in older versions)
    Affected if The reported version matches any of these ranges: 11.2.1, 11.5.1-11.5.5, 11.6.1-11.6.3, 12.1.0-12.1.3, 13.0.0, or 13.1.0
  2. Identify installed modules
    Run `tmsh list /sys module` or check System > Resource Provisioning in the web UI to see which modules (LTM, APM, ASM, AFM, Analytics, DNS, Edge Gateway) are provisioned
    Affected if Any affected module (LTM, APM, ASM, AFM, Analytics, DNS, or Edge Gateway) is provisioned on a matching vulnerable version
  3. Confirm TMUI is accessible
    Check if the Traffic Management User Interface (web-based Configuration Utility) is enabled and reachable. Run `tmsh list /sys httpd` and look for the httpd configuration. Attempt to access https://<host>/tmui/ or /config/ui/ from an authorized admin workstation
    Affected if TMUI is enabled and exposed (the vulnerability only applies when TMUI is accessible)

You are affected if your BIG-IP runs any of the vulnerable versions (11.2.1, 11.5.1-11.5.5, 11.6.1-11.6.3, 12.1.0-12.1.3, 13.0.0, or 13.1.0) with TMUI enabled and an attacker has authenticated administrative access to the TMUI interface.

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 12.1.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate F5 hotfix for the affected version (13.1.0.4+, 12.1.3.2+, 11.6.3.2+, 11.5.6+, 11.2.1.4+) and review administrative role assignments to ensure least-privilege principles.

Fix this in Big Ip Application Acceleration Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

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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-2018-5523 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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