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Big Iq Centralized ManagementApplication · F5

CVE-2019-19151

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.1.0 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
On BIG-IP versions 15.0.0-15.1.0, 14.0.0-14.1.2.3, 13.1.0-13.1.3.2, 12.1.0-12.1.5, and 11.5.2-11.6.5.1, BIG-IQ versions 7.0.0, 6.0.0-6.1.0, and 5.0.0-5.4.0, iWorkflow version 2.3.0, and Enterprise Manager version 3.1.1, authenticated users granted TMOS Shell (tmsh) privileges are able access objects on the file system which would normally be disallowed by tmsh restrictions. This allows for authenticated, low privileged attackers to access objects on the file system which would not normally be allowed.

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

Authenticated users with TMOS Shell (tmsh) privileges can bypass tmsh restrictions to access objects on the file system that should be disallowed. This is an authorization bypass vulnerability allowing low-privileged tmsh users to read files outside their intended scope.

MitigationApply F5 security patches for the affected versions. Restrict tmsh privileges to only essential administrative users and review user role assignments to limit exposure.

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 Iq Centralized ManagementApplication
Affected:>= 5.0.0, <= 5.4.0>= 6.0.0, <= 6.1.0= 7.0.0
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.3>= 14.0.0, <= 14.1.2>= 15.0.0, <= 15.1.0
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.3>= 14.0.0, <= 14.1.2>= 15.0.0, <= 15.1.0
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.3>= 14.0.0, <= 14.1.2>= 15.0.0, <= 15.1.0
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.3>= 14.0.0, <= 14.1.2>= 15.0.0, <= 15.1.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.3>= 14.0.0, <= 14.1.2>= 15.0.0, <= 15.1.0
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.3>= 14.0.0, <= 14.1.2>= 15.0.0, <= 15.1.0
Big Ip Edge GatewayWeb browser
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.3>= 14.0.0, <= 14.1.2>= 15.0.0, <= 15.1.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify installed F5 product and version
    Run `tmsh show sys version` or `bigpipe version` to determine the exact product and version installed
    Affected if The version falls within any of the affected ranges: Big-IQ 5.0.0-5.4.0, 6.0.0-6.1.0, 7.0.0 or Big-IP 11.5.1-11.6.5, 12.1.0-12.1.5, 13.0.0-13.1.3, 14.0.0-14.1.2, 15.0.0-15.1.0 for any module (APM, AFM, Analytics, AAM, ASM, DNS, Edge Gateway)
  2. Confirm tmsh shell access is enabled
    Check user role configurations via `tmsh list auth user` or review administrative user accounts in the F5 management interface
    Affected if Any user account has tmsh or administrator role privileges configured on the system
  3. Review user account privileges
    Run `tmsh list auth user all-properties` to enumerate all local users and their assigned roles
    Affected if There are user accounts assigned to roles other than Administrator that still have tmsh shell access
  4. Check for low-privileged tmsh users
    Identify users with the 'guest' or custom 'tmsh' role by reviewing output from `tmsh list auth role` and `tmsh show auth user`
    Affected if Non-administrative user accounts exist with tmsh shell access privileges
  5. Audit file system access logs
    Review system logs and bash history for any anomalous file read operations from tmsh context, checking for access to paths outside /var or /config
    Affected if Logs show file read operations from tmsh sessions accessing paths outside the expected tmsh-restricted directories

The environment is affected if the installed F5 product version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND there are user accounts with tmsh shell privileges that could potentially bypass intended file system restrictions.

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 15.1.0
Interim mitigation

Apply F5 security patches for the affected versions. Restrict tmsh privileges to only essential administrative users and review user role assignments to limit exposure.

Fix this in Big Iq Centralized Management Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2019-19151 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
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