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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2020-5872

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 14.1.2.3 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 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, 14.0.0-14.0.1, 13.1.0-13.1.3.1, and 12.1.0-12.1.4.1, when processing TLS traffic with hardware cryptographic acceleration enabled on platforms with Intel QAT hardware, the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) may stop responding and cause a failover event.

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

This vulnerability in F5 BIG-IP occurs when processing TLS traffic with hardware cryptographic acceleration enabled on systems with Intel QAT hardware. Under these specific conditions, the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) can stop responding, triggering a failover event. The issue affects specific version ranges across 12.1.x, 13.1.x, and 14.x branches.

MitigationDisable Intel QAT hardware cryptographic acceleration for TLS processing if possible, or upgrade to a patched BIG-IP version beyond 14.1.2.3/14.0.1/13.1.3.1/12.1.4.1. Organizations should verify their hardware platform includes Intel QAT and assess whether the accelerated path is actively in use.

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:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4.1>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4.1>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4.1>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4.1>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4.1>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4.1>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3
Big Ip Fraud Protection ServiceApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4.1>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3
Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4.1>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3

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
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Identify the installed BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show /sys version' or check the BIG-IP login page footer for the version number
    Affected if The version falls within 12.1.0-12.1.4.1, 13.1.0-13.1.3.1, 14.0.0-14.0.1, or 14.1.0-14.1.2.3
  2. Verify Intel QAT hardware is present
    Check the system hardware inventory or run 'tmsh show /sys hardware' to list cryptographic hardware modules
    Affected if Intel QAT hardware modules are listed as present in the system
  3. Confirm hardware cryptographic acceleration is enabled for TLS
    Examine the SSL/TLS profile settings via 'tmsh list /ltm profile client-ssl' or check the SSL settings in the BIG-IP GUI under Local Traffic > Profiles > SSL
    Affected if Hardware acceleration is explicitly enabled on the SSL/TLS profiles handling traffic
  4. Determine if TLS traffic is being processed
    Review active virtual servers and their attached SSL profiles via 'tmsh show /ltm virtual' and confirm traffic is flowing to SSL-terminating virtual servers
    Affected if The device is terminating TLS traffic using profiles with QAT hardware acceleration enabled

You are affected only if your BIG-IP version is within the affected ranges, your hardware includes Intel QAT, AND hardware cryptographic acceleration is enabled for TLS processing.

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 14.1.2.3
Interim mitigation

Disable Intel QAT hardware cryptographic acceleration for TLS processing if possible, or upgrade to a patched BIG-IP version beyond 14.1.2.3/14.0.1/13.1.3.1/12.1.4.1. Organizations should verify their hardware platform includes Intel QAT and assess whether the accelerated path is actively in use.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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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-2020-5872 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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