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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2020-5878

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.1.0.1 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 versions 15.1.0-15.1.0.1, 15.0.0-15.0.1.1, and 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) may restart on BIG-IP Virtual Edition (VE) while processing unusual IP traffic.

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

A denial of service vulnerability exists in the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) of F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition versions 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, 15.0.0-15.0.1.1, and 15.1.0-15.1.0.1. When TMM processes specially crafted or unusual IP traffic, it may trigger a restart, causing service disruption.

MitigationUpgrade BIG-IP VE to a patched version outside the affected version ranges. If immediate upgrading is not possible, consider implementing network filtering or rate limiting for unusual IP traffic patterns as a compensating 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 Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1.1>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.0.1
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1.1>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.0.1
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1.1>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.0.1
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1.1>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.0.1
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1.1.>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.0.1
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1.1>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.0.1
Big Ip Fraud Protection ServiceApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1.1>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.0.1
Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.3>= 15.0.0, <= 15.0.1.1>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.0.1

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
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. Check BIG-IP version
    Run `tmsh show sys version` or `bigstart status tmm` to retrieve the installed version. On the web UI, navigate to System > Software > Image List to view version information.
    Affected if The installed version falls within 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, 15.0.0-15.0.1.1, or 15.1.0-15.1.0.1
  2. Identify affected module
    Confirm the BIG-IP Virtual Edition deployment includes one or more of these modules: Access Policy Manager (APM), Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM), Analytics, Application Acceleration Manager (AAM), Application Security Manager (ASM), Domain Name System (DNS), Fraud Protection Service (FPS), or Global Traffic Manager (GTM). Check via `tmsh list sys module` or the web UI at System > Information.
    Affected if Any of the listed modules are provisioned and the version is within the affected ranges.
  3. Verify TMM is active
    Confirm the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) is running by executing `bigstart status tmm` or checking the BIG-IP web UI under Network > Tunnels. TMM must be active for the vulnerability to be triggerable.
    Affected if TMM is running and the version falls within the affected version ranges.

The environment is affected if BIG-IP VE is running a version within 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, 15.0.0-15.0.1.1, or 15.1.0-15.1.0.1 with any of the listed modules provisioned and TMM active to process IP 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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 15.1.0.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade BIG-IP VE to a patched version outside the affected version ranges. If immediate upgrading is not possible, consider implementing network filtering or rate limiting for unusual IP traffic patterns as a compensating control.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
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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-2020-5878 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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