Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication · F5
CVE-2020-5950
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 BIG-IP 14.1.0-14.1.2.6, undisclosed endpoints in iControl REST allow for a reflected XSS attack, which could lead to a complete compromise of the BIG-IP system if the victim user is granted the admin role.
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 confidenceReflected XSS vulnerability in undisclosed iControl REST endpoints on F5 BIG-IP 14.1.0-14.1.2.6 allows injection of malicious scripts. When triggered by an authenticated admin user, this could lead to complete system compromise.
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 Firewall ManagerApplication
>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2.7CVSS 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
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
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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Check installed BIG-IP versionRun 'tmsh show /sys version' or 'bigpipe version' on the command line, or view System > Software Management > BIG-IP in the web interfaceAffected if The version is 14.1.0 through 14.1.2.6 inclusive
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Verify iControl REST service statusConfirm the iControl REST service is running via 'tmsh show /sys service icr' or by checking that port 4444 is listeningAffected if iControl REST is active and accessible on the network
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Confirm admin authentication to iControl REST is possibleAttempt to access the iControl REST API endpoint (typically at https://<device>/mgmt/shared/authn/login) using valid admin credentialsAffected if An authenticated admin session can be established to iControl REST
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Review network accessibility of iControl RESTCheck if port 4444 (default iControl REST) or the management interface is exposed to untrusted networks by reviewing firewall rules or running 'netstat -an | grep 4444'Affected if iControl REST is reachable from networks outside the trusted administrative zone
If the BIG-IP version falls within 14.1.0 through 14.1.2.6 and iControl REST is accessible to an authenticated admin user, the environment is vulnerable to this reflected XSS flaw.
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 data14.1.2.7
Update BIG-IP to version 14.1.2.7 or later which contains the patch for this vulnerability. Restrict iControl REST access to trusted networks until the patch is applied.
Fix this in Big Ip Advanced Firewall Manager
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5950 — 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-2020-5950 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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