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Big Ip Local Traffic ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2019-6647

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-09-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 13.1.1 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 14.1.0-14.1.0.5, 14.0.0-14.0.0.4, 13.0.0-13.1.2, 12.1.0-12.1.4.1, 11.5.2-11.6.4, when processing authentication attempts for control-plane users MCPD leaks a small amount of memory. Under rare conditions attackers with access to the management interface could eventually deplete memory on the system.

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

In BIG-IP versions 14.1.0-14.1.0.5, 14.0.0-14.0.0.4, 13.0.0-13.1.2, 12.1.0-12.1.4.1, and 11.5.2-11.6.4, the MCPD (Management Control Plane Daemon) leaks a small amount of memory when processing authentication attempts for control-plane users. An attacker with access to the management interface could, under rare conditions, repeatedly trigger authentication to eventually deplete system memory, causing denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade BIG-IP to a patched version beyond the vulnerable releases listed (14.1.0.6+, 14.0.0.5+, 13.1.3+, 12.1.4.2+, 11.6.5+). Restrict management interface access to trusted personnel as an interim control.

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:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.4>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0= 14.1.0
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.4>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0= 14.1.0
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.4>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0= 14.1.0
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.4>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0= 14.1.0
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.4>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0= 14.1.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.4>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0= 14.1.0
Big Ip Edge GatewayWeb browser
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.4>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0= 14.1.0
Big Ip Fraud Protection ServiceApplication
Affected:>= 11.5.1, <= 11.6.4>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4>= 13.0.0, <= 13.1.1= 14.0.0= 14.1.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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 BIG-IP version
    Run command: tmsh show sys version or check the BIG-IP web UI login page footer for version number
    Affected if Version is 14.1.0 through 14.1.0.5, 14.0.0 through 14.0.0.4, 13.0.0 through 13.1.2, 12.1.0 through 12.1.4.1, or 11.5.2 through 11.6.4
  2. Verify management interface exposure
    Check if the management interface (port 443/8443) is accessible from untrusted networks by reviewing networkACLs, firewall rules, or by running: tmsh list sys management-ip
    Affected if Management interface is exposed to networks with untrusted users, enabling remote authentication attempts
  3. Check MCPD memory consumption
    Run command: tmsh show sys process mcped detail and observe the memory (resident set size) value; monitor over time for unusual growth
    Affected if MCPD process shows abnormally high memory usage compared to baseline, particularly after repeated authentication activity
  4. Review authentication logs for anomalies
    Examine /var/log/audit for repeated failed authentication events targeting control-plane users: grep -i 'auth.*fail' /var/log/audit | tail -100
    Affected if Audit logs show a high volume of authentication attempts that could indicate an attacker's repeated tries to trigger memory leaks

Environment is affected if BIG-IP version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND the management interface is accessible to untrusted users, allowing repeated authentication attempts to deplete MCPD memory.

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

Upgrade BIG-IP to a patched version beyond the vulnerable releases listed (14.1.0.6+, 14.0.0.5+, 13.1.3+, 12.1.4.2+, 11.6.5+). Restrict management interface access to trusted personnel as an interim control.

Fix this in Big Ip Local Traffic Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

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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-2019-6647 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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