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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2020-5889

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.1.0.1 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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, 15.0.0-15.0.1.2, and 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, in BIG-IP APM portal access, a specially crafted HTTP request can lead to reflected XSS after the BIG-IP APM system rewrites the HTTP response from the untrusted backend server and sends it to the client.

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

Reflected XSS vulnerability in BIG-IP APM portal access. The APM system rewrites HTTP responses from untrusted backend servers before sending them to clients. A specially crafted HTTP request can inject malicious scripts into the rewritten response, which then executes in the victim's browser.

MitigationUpdate BIG-IP to versions beyond 15.1.0.1, 15.0.1.2, or 14.1.2.3 to obtain the security fix. Alternatively, disable APM portal access if not required or implement additional input validation on backend servers.

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, <= 15.0.1.2>= 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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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. Confirm APM module is installed
    Log into the BIG-IP management interface or use 'tmsh show sys module' command to list installed modules. Look for 'apm' in the module list.
    Affected if APM module is not present in the installed modules list - the vulnerability cannot apply without APM installed.
  2. Determine if portal access is enabled
    Check the APM access policy configuration. In the management UI, navigate to Access Policy > Access Profiles or use tmsh to list APM access profiles. Look for profiles that have portal access or Webtops configured.
    Affected if No portal access or Webtop profiles are configured and active - the vulnerability requires an active portal access configuration to be exploitable.
  3. Identify the BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or check the BIG-IP management UI footer for the version number. Document the full version string (e.g., 14.1.2.3).
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 14.1.0 through 14.1.2.3, 15.0.0 through 15.0.1.2, or 15.1.0 through 15.1.0.1.
  4. Review backend server access through APM
    Examine the APM access policy to determine if it proxies or rewrites responses from untrusted backend servers. Check for portal access resources that connect to external or internal web applications.
    Affected if APM portal access policy proxies traffic to untrusted backend servers without additional validation - the rewritten responses could contain injected scripts.

You are affected if APM is installed with portal access enabled and the BIG-IP version falls within 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, 15.0.0-15.0.1.2, or 15.1.0-15.1.0.1.

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

Update BIG-IP to versions beyond 15.1.0.1, 15.0.1.2, or 14.1.2.3 to obtain the security fix. Alternatively, disable APM portal access if not required or implement additional input validation on backend servers.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2020-5889 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