dbcve.org
Big Iq Centralized ManagementApplication · F5

CVE-2021-23005

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-03-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.0.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
On all 7.x and 6.x versions (fixed in 8.0.0), when using a Quorum device for BIG-IQ high availability (HA) for automatic failover, BIG-IQ does not make use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) with the Corosync protocol. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Software Development (EoSD) are not evaluated.

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-IQ HA deployments using Quorum devices rely on the Corosync protocol for cluster communication and automatic failover. The vulnerability exists because BIG-IQ versions 7.x and 6.x do not implement TLS encryption for Corosync traffic, allowing unauthenticated attackers on the network to intercept or manipulate HA cluster communications.

MitigationUpgrade BIG-IQ to version 8.0.0 or later where TLS encryption for Corosync is enforced; if immediate upgrade is not feasible, strictly isolate the HA management network from untrusted segments to reduce exposure to man-in-the-middle attacks.

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 Iq Centralized ManagementApplication
Affected:>= 6.0.0, < 8.0.0

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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. Identify the installed BIG-IQ version
    Run the command to display the BIG-IQ version (e.g., 'show sys version' or check the web UI dashboard for the version number)
    Affected if The version is 6.0.0 through 7.x (any version >= 6.0.0 and < 8.0.0)
  2. Determine if HA clustering is configured
    Check whether BIG-IQ is deployed in a High Availability configuration with multiple devices using quorum - look for HA cluster status or membership in the BIG-IQ web UI under Clustering or examine /config/httpd/conf/httpd.conf for cluster-related modules
    Affected if HA clustering with quorum devices is enabled and Corosync is in use for cluster communication
  3. Verify Corosync protocol is in use for cluster traffic
    Inspect the cluster configuration files or network traffic on the HA management interface to confirm Corosync is being used for inter-node communication - check if traffic is unencrypted on port 5404/5405 (default Corosync ports)
    Affected if Corosync traffic is flowing without TLS encryption between cluster nodes
  4. Assess network isolation of HA management segment
    Review network segmentation and firewall rules to determine whether the HA management network (where Corosync communicates) is isolated from untrusted network segments
    Affected if The HA management network is accessible from untrusted segments, allowing potential man-in-the-middle attackers to reach the Corosync traffic

You are affected if BIG-IQ version is between 6.0.0 and 7.x inclusive AND HA clustering with Corosync is enabled AND the HA management network is not strictly isolated from untrusted segments.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.0.0 or later
Fixed in 8.0.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade BIG-IQ to version 8.0.0 or later where TLS encryption for Corosync is enforced; if immediate upgrade is not feasible, strictly isolate the HA management network from untrusted segments to reduce exposure to man-in-the-middle attacks.

Recommended fix High confidence

8.0.0 or later

  1. Plan and schedule a maintenance window for the BIG-IQ upgrade
  2. Backup the current BIG-IQ configuration and verify backup integrity
  3. Review F5 upgrade documentation for BIG-IQ 8.0.0, including release notes and known issues
  4. Download BIG-IQ 8.0.0 or later from F5 downloads portal
  5. Upload the upgrade image to the BIG-IQ device
  6. Initiate the upgrade process following F5 recommended procedures
  7. After upgrade completes, verify the system is running version 8.0.0 or later
  8. Test the High Availability (HA) quorum device functionality to confirm Corosync is now using TLS
Caveat Major version upgrade from 6.x/7.x to 8.x may introduce compatibility changes; review F5 release notes for breaking changes before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Big Iq Centralized Management 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-2021-23005 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