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Big Iq Centralized ManagementApplication · F5

CVE-2020-5869

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.1.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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-IQ 5.2.0-7.0.0, high availability (HA) synchronization is not secure by TLS and may allow on-path attackers to read / modify confidential data in transit.

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-IQ versions 5.2.0-7.0.0, the high availability (HA) synchronization traffic between HA pair members is transmitted without TLS encryption, allowing on-path attackers to intercept and potentially modify confidential configuration and operational data in transit.

MitigationEnable TLS encryption for HA synchronization traffic or upgrade BIG-IQ to a version that has addressed this vulnerability.

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:>= 5.2.0, <= 5.4.0>= 6.0.0, <= 6.1.0>= 7.0.0, < 7.1.0

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 the product
    Confirm the system is F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management, not standard BIG-IP. Check system inventory or run: tmsh show sys version
    Affected if The product is not BIG-IQ Centralized Management - this CVE does not apply
  2. Check installed BIG-IQ version
    Run command: tmsh show sys version or access the web UI to view the version under System > Software Management > BIG-IQ
    Affected if Version is outside 5.2.0-7.0.0 range - not affected by this specific CVE
  3. Verify HA synchronization is configured
    Check if HA pair is configured: Navigate to Device Management > HIGH AVAILABILITY in the web UI or run: tmsh show cm device-group
    Affected if HA synchronization is not configured - the vulnerability cannot be exploited
  4. Inspect HA synchronization TLS configuration
    Examine the HA device group configuration for the Sync traffic type. In the web UI go to Device Management > HIGH AVAILABILITY > Device Group and verify if TLS encryption is disabled or not specified for sync traffic. Alternatively, check the device group configuration via: tmsh list cm device-group <group_name>
    Affected if TLS encryption is not enabled for HA sync traffic - the synchronization data is being transmitted unencrypted

A system is affected only if it is BIG-IQ Centralized Management version 5.2.0-7.0.0 with HA synchronization configured and TLS encryption disabled for that traffic.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.1.0 or later
Fixed in 7.1.0
Interim mitigation

Enable TLS encryption for HA synchronization traffic or upgrade BIG-IQ to a version that has addressed this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

BIG-IQ 7.1.0 or later

  1. 1. Plan maintenance window for BIG-IQ upgrade, as HA services will be temporarily unavailable during the process.
  2. 2. Back up current BIG-IQ configuration using the web interface or tmsh command: tmsh save sys config.
  3. 3. Verify current version matches affected versions: bigiq version.
  4. 4. Download BIG-IQ 7.1.0 or later from F5 Downloads (support.f5.com).
  5. 5. Upload the ISO image to the BIG-IQ device via web interface or scp.
  6. 6. Install the upgrade: Use 'Install ISO' from the Images menu in the web interface, or via tmsh: install sys software image <image-name> volume <volume-name>.
  7. 7. Reboot into the new volume after installation completes.
  8. 8. After reboot, verify new version: bigiq version.
Caveat Review F5 release notes for 7.1.0 for any configuration or feature changes that may require adjustment; always test in non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Big Iq Centralized Management Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

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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-2020-5869 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