Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5
CVE-2020-5874
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 · uneditedOn BIG-IP APM 15.0.0-15.0.1.2, 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, and 14.0.0-14.0.1, in certain circumstances, an attacker sending specifically crafted requests to a BIG-IP APM virtual server may cause a disruption of service provided by the Traffic Management Microkernel(TMM).
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 confidenceBIG-IP APM versions 15.0.0-15.0.1.2, 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, and 14.0.0-14.0.1 contain a vulnerability where specially crafted requests to an APM virtual server can cause a denial of service condition in the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM), disrupting service.
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
>= 14.0.0, <= 14.0.1>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check BIG-IP versionRun `tmsh show sys version` to obtain the installed BIG-IP versionAffected if Version falls within 14.0.0-14.0.1, 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, or 15.0.0-15.0.1.2
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Verify APM module is provisionedRun `tmsh list sys provision apm` to confirm Access Policy Manager is provisionedAffected if APM is provisioned (the module must be enabled for the vulnerability to apply)
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Identify APM virtual serversRun `tmsh list ltm virtual all-properties` and review the output for virtual servers with APM-related profiles (such as access, connectivity, or webtops), or check via the Configuration Utility under Access Policy > Virtual ServersAffected if At least one APM-enabled virtual server exists on the system
The environment is affected if it runs a vulnerable BIG-IP version with APM provisioned and has one or more APM virtual servers configured, as the attack requires an APM virtual server to receive the specially crafted requests.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply the appropriate F5 hotfix or upgrade to a corrected BIG-IP version as specified in the F5 security advisory. For immediate risk reduction, consider restricting access to APM virtual servers or implementing rate limiting.
Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5874 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-5874 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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