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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2020-5912

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-08-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.6.5.2 / 12.1.5.2 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
In BIG-IP versions 15.1.0-15.1.0.4, 15.0.0-15.0.1.3, 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, 13.1.0-13.1.3.3, 12.1.0-12.1.5.1, and 11.6.1-11.6.5.1, the restjavad process's dump command does not follow current best coding practices and may overwrite arbitrary files.

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

The restjavad service in F5 BIG-IP contains a file overwrite vulnerability in its dump command. The command fails to properly validate file paths, allowing an authenticated attacker to potentially overwrite arbitrary files on the system. This could enable privilege escalation, configuration tampering, or code execution depending on what files are targeted.

MitigationApply the appropriate F5 patch or upgrade to a fixed BIG-IP version as specified in F5 advisory K44012020. This is a vendor-supplied patch addressing improper file handling in the restjavad process.

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, < 11.6.5.2>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3.4>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.0.5
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5.2>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3.4>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.0.5
Big Ip Advanced Web Application FirewallApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5.2>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3.4>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.0.5
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5.2>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3.4>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.0.5
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5.2>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3.4>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.0.5
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5.2>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3.4>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.0.5
Big Ip Ddos Hybrid DefenderApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5.2>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3.4>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.0.5
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5.2>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3.4>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.0.5

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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. Confirm restjavad service is running
    Log into the BIG-IP command line and run: tmsh show sys service restjavad or ps aux | grep restjavad
    Affected if The restjavad process is running and listening on the management port or internal IP addresses
  2. Identify the installed BIG-IP version
    Run command: tmsh show sys version or check /etc/default/version
    Affected if Version output cannot be retrieved or shows a version string
  3. Compare your version against affected ranges
    Match the retrieved version number to these ranges: 11.6.1 to 11.6.5.1, 12.1.0 to 12.1.5.1, 13.1.0 to 13.1.3.3, 14.1.0 to 14.1.2.4, 15.0.0 to 15.0.1.3, or 15.1.0 to 15.1.0.4
    Affected if Your installed version falls within any of the listed vulnerable version ranges
  4. Check if iControl REST API is accessible
    Attempt to reach the REST API endpoint: curl -k https://<management-ip>/mgmt/tm/util/dump -u admin:<password>
    Affected if The API responds and accepts authenticated requests to the restjavad utility endpoints
  5. Verify the restjavad dump command behavior
    If authenticated, send a POST request to /mgmt/tm/util/bash with a command that attempts to write to an unintended path; observe if path traversal is possible
    Affected if The service allows path traversal in the dump or related utility commands

Your environment is affected if restjavad is running, the BIG-IP version falls within any of the vulnerable version ranges (11.6.1-11.6.5.1, 12.1.0-12.1.5.1, 13.1.0-13.1.3.3, 14.1.0-14.1.2.4, 15.0.0-15.0.1.3, or 15.1.0-15.1.0.4), and the iControl REST API is accessible to authenticated users.

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 11.6.5.2 / 12.1.5.2 / 13.1.3.4 or later
Fixed in 11.6.5.212.1.5.213.1.3.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate F5 patch or upgrade to a fixed BIG-IP version as specified in F5 advisory K44012020. This is a vendor-supplied patch addressing improper file handling in the restjavad process.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
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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-2020-5912 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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