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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2020-5913

HIGH · 7.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-08-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.6.5 / 12.1.5.2 or later.
See remediation →
83/100
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
In versions 15.0.0-15.1.0.1, 14.1.0-14.1.2.3, 13.1.0-13.1.3.4, 12.1.0-12.1.5.1, and 11.6.1-11.6.5.2, the BIG-IP Client or Server SSL profile ignores revoked certificates, even when a valid CRL is present. This impacts SSL/TLS connections and may result in a man-in-the-middle attack on the connections.

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

BIG-IP SSL profiles fail to properly validate certificates against Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs), causing revoked certificates to be accepted even when a valid CRL is present. This breaks the certificate revocation chain and enables man-in-the-middle attacks on SSL/TLS connections.

MitigationUpgrade BIG-IP to the fixed versions (15.1.1, 14.1.3, 13.1.4, 12.1.6, 11.6.6) or apply appropriate hotfixes. Alternatively, disable affected SSL profiles until patching is feasible.

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>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2-0.89.37>= 14.1.2.1, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.2
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2-0.89.37>= 14.1.2.1, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.2
Big Ip Advanced Web Application FirewallApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2-0.89.37>= 14.1.2.1, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.2
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2-0.89.37>= 14.1.2.1, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.2
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2-0.89.37>= 14.1.2.1, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.2
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2-0.89.37>= 14.1.2.1, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.2
Big Ip Ddos Hybrid DefenderApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2-0.89.37>= 14.1.2.1, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.2
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, < 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.5.2>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.3>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2-0.89.37>= 14.1.2.1, < 14.1.2.5>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.1.2

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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. Determine BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' on the command line or check System > Software in the web management interface
    Affected if Version matches: 11.6.1-11.6.5, 12.1.0-12.1.5.2, 13.1.0-13.1.3, 14.1.0 to 14.1.2-0.89.37, 14.1.2.1-14.1.2.5, or 15.0.0-15.0.1.2
  2. Identify SSL profiles
    Run 'tmsh list ltm profile client-ssl' and 'tmsh list ltm profile server-ssl' to list all SSL profiles configured on the device
    Affected if Any SSL client or server profiles exist on the system
  3. Check for CRL configuration in SSL profiles
    For each SSL profile, inspect its CRL configuration by running 'tmsh list ltm profile client-ssl <profile_name> all' (or server-ssl), look for 'crl file' or 'crl mode' settings
    Affected if A CRL file is referenced or CRL mode is set in any SSL profile configuration

System is affected if running an affected BIG-IP version AND has SSL profiles with CRL validation configured.

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 / 12.1.5.2 / 13.1.3 or later
Fixed in 11.6.512.1.5.213.1.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade BIG-IP to the fixed versions (15.1.1, 14.1.3, 13.1.4, 12.1.6, 11.6.6) or apply appropriate hotfixes. Alternatively, disable affected SSL profiles until patching is feasible.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2020-5913 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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