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Big Ip Advanced Web Application FirewallApplication · F5

CVE-2020-5946

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-11-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.1.2.8 / 15.1.1 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
In BIG-IP Advanced WAF and FPS versions 16.0.0-16.0.0.1, 15.1.0-15.1.0.5, and 14.1.0-14.1.2.7, under some circumstances, certain format client-side alerts sent to the BIG-IP virtual server configured with DataSafe may cause the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) to restart, resulting in a Denial-of-Service (DoS).

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

This is a denial-of-service vulnerability in F5 BIG-IP Advanced WAF and Fraud Protection Service (FPS). When specially formatted client-side alerts are sent to a virtual server configured with DataSafe, they trigger a restart of the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM), which is the core traffic processing component. This causes service disruption until TMM recovers.

MitigationUpgrade BIG-IP Advanced WAF and FPS to versions beyond the affected releases (16.0.0.1, 15.1.0.5, 14.1.2.7). Alternatively, review DataSafe virtual server configuration to filter or validate incoming client-side alerts before they reach TMM.

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 Advanced Web Application FirewallApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2.8> 15.1.0, < 15.1.1>= 16.0.0, < 16.0.1
Big Ip Fraud Protection ServiceApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2.8>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.1>= 16.0.0, < 16.0.1

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. Verify BIG-IP Advanced WAF or FPS module is provisioned
    Run 'tmsh list sys provision' and look for 'afm' or check the GUI under System > Resource Provisioning for Advanced WAF or Fraud Protection Service modules.
    Affected if Either Advanced WAF (awaf) or Fraud Protection Service (fps) is provisioned.
  2. Check BIG-IP version number
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or check the BIG-IP GUI dashboard to find the installed version.
    Affected if Version is 14.1.0 through 14.1.2.7, 15.1.0, or 16.0.0.
  3. Identify virtual servers with DataSafe configured
    Run 'tmsh list ltm virtual' and look for 'datasafe-lists' or 'datasafe-profile' within the virtual server configuration. Alternatively, check the GUI under Local Traffic > Virtual Servers > select a virtual > Security > DataSafe.
    Affected if Any virtual server has a DataSafe profile assigned.
  4. Confirm client-side alert processing is enabled
    Examine the DataSafe profile configuration with 'tmsh list security datasafe profile <profile_name>' and check for client-side alert settings. In the GUI, go to Security > DataSafe > Profiles > select profile > Client-Side Alert Configuration.
    Affected if Client-side alert processing is enabled in the DataSafe profile.

You are affected if you have an affected BIG-IP version (14.1.0-14.1.2.7, 15.1.0, or 16.0.0) with Advanced WAF or FPS provisioned AND a virtual server with DataSafe that has client-side alert processing enabled.

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 14.1.2.8 / 15.1.1 / 16.0.1 or later
Fixed in 14.1.2.815.1.116.0.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade BIG-IP Advanced WAF and FPS to versions beyond the affected releases (16.0.0.1, 15.1.0.5, 14.1.2.7). Alternatively, review DataSafe virtual server configuration to filter or validate incoming client-side alerts before they reach TMM.

Fix this in Big Ip Advanced Web Application Firewall Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2020-5946 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data