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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2020-5873

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.0.1 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 BIG-IP 15.0.0-15.0.1, 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, 13.1.0-13.1.3.1, 12.1.0-12.1.5, and 11.6.1-11.6.5 and BIG-IQ 5.2.0-7.1.0, a user associated with the Resource Administrator role who has access to the secure copy (scp) utility but does not have access to Advanced Shell (bash) can execute arbitrary commands using a maliciously crafted scp request.

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

A privilege escalation vulnerability in F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ allows users with Resource Administrator role (but without bash access) to execute arbitrary commands via a maliciously crafted scp request. The scp utility improperly handles certain requests, permitting command injection by limited-privilege administrators.

MitigationUpgrade BIG-IP to version 15.1.0+ or 14.1.2.4+ or 13.1.3.2+ (or later) and BIG-IQ to version 7.2.0+ (or later). Alternatively, restrict or disable scp access for Resource Administrator users until patching can be completed.

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:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1
Big Iq Centralized ManagementApplication
Affected:>= 5.2.0, <= 5.4.0>= 6.0.0, <= 6.1.0>= 7.0.0, <= 7.1.0
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1
Big Ip Fraud Protection ServiceApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1

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:3.1/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. Identify the installed BIG-IP or BIG-IQ product version
    Run `tmsh show sys version` on the command line, or log into the Configuration Utility and navigate to System > Software > Volume List to view the installed version
    Affected if The version falls within any of the listed affected ranges (11.6.1-11.6.5, 12.1.0-12.1.5, 13.1.0-13.1.3.1, 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, or 15.0.0-15.0.1 for BIG-IP; 5.2.0-5.4.0, 6.0.0-6.1.0, or 7.0.0-7.1.0 for BIG-IQ)
  2. Determine if scp is enabled on the system
    Run `tmsh list sys service sshd` to check the scp subcomponent status, or check the BIG-IP GUI under System > Services > SSH for scp configuration
    Affected if scp service is listed as enabled or running and the system version is within the affected ranges listed above
  3. Identify users assigned the Resource Administrator role
    Run `tmsh list auth user` and review the role field, or check via the GUI under User Management > User List to see which users have the Resource Administrator role
    Affected if Any user account has the Resource Administrator role assigned and the system is running an affected version with scp enabled

You are affected if your BIG-IP or BIG-IQ version is within the affected ranges AND scp is enabled AND you have users with the Resource Administrator role who could leverage the scp command injection to escalate privileges.

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 15.0.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade BIG-IP to version 15.1.0+ or 14.1.2.4+ or 13.1.3.2+ (or later) and BIG-IQ to version 7.2.0+ (or later). Alternatively, restrict or disable scp access for Resource Administrator users until patching can be completed.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager 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
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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-2020-5873 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