Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5
CVE-2020-5896
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 versions 7.1.5-7.1.9, the BIG-IP Edge Client's Windows Installer Service's temporary folder has weak file and folder permissions.
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 confidenceThe BIG-IP Edge Client Windows Installer Service creates a temporary folder during installation with overly permissive file and folder access controls. This allows local unprivileged users to potentially read, modify, or replace files placed in the installer temp directory, which could lead to privilege escalation or installation tampering.
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
>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5.1>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5.1>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.3.3>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, <= 15.1.0.3
Big Ip Access Policy Manager ClientApplication
>= 7.1.5, <= 7.1.9CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed F5 BIG-IP Edge Client versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell. Look for 'F5 BIG-IP Edge Client' or 'F5 Networks BIG-IP Edge Client' entry.Affected if Version is 7.1.5 through 7.1.9 (inclusive) as shown in Programs and Features
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Identify installed F5 Big IP Access Policy Manager versionOn the BIG-IP system itself, run 'tmsh show sys version' via command line, or check the installed APM package version via 'rpm -qa | grep -i apm' if you have shell access. The version displayed is the APM version.Affected if APM version falls within 11.6.1-11.6.5.1, 12.1.0-12.1.5.1, 13.1.0-13.1.3.3, 14.1.0-14.1.2.5, or 15.0.0-15.1.0.3
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Inspect installer temporary folder permissionsCheck for folders under %TEMP% or C:\Windows\Temp that contain 'F5' or 'Edge' in the name. Use 'dir /a C:\Users\*\AppData\Local\Temp\*F5*' or 'dir /a C:\Windows\Temp\*F5*' to locate them. Right-click the folder, go to Properties > Security, and examine the permissions.Affected if The folder grants Modify or Full Control permissions to Users or Everyone groups, or the folder is world-writable
You are affected if the F5 BIG-IP Edge Client version is 7.1.5-7.1.9 or the APM version matches any of the listed affected ranges, and overly permissive temp folder permissions exist from a recent installation.
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 dataUpgrade BIG-IP Edge Client to version 7.1.10 or later, or apply the appropriate hotfix provided by F5 Networks. As a compensating control, ensure strict file permissions on user-accessible temp directories and restrict local user privileges where possible.
Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5896 — 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-2020-5896 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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