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Big Ip Advanced Web Application FirewallApplication · F5

CVE-2021-23029

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.0.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 version 16.0.x before 16.0.1.2, insufficient permission checks may allow authenticated users with guest privileges to perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks through F5 Advanced Web Application Firewall (WAF) and the BIG-IP ASM Configuration utility. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) 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

F5 BIG-IP with WAF/ASM has an SSRF vulnerability where authenticated users with guest-level privileges can make the system perform arbitrary server-side requests due to insufficient permission checks in the configuration utility, allowing potential internal resource access.

MitigationUpgrade F5 BIG-IP to version 16.0.1.2 or later, or restrict guest user permissions in the WAF/ASM configuration to prevent unauthorized request handling.

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:>= 16.0.0, < 16.0.1.2
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 16.0.0, < 16.0.1.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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. Verify WAF/ASM module is installed
    Check the installed modules on the BIG-IP system. In the configuration utility, navigate to System > Software Management > ISO Image or check the output of 'tmsh show sys module' to confirm the Application Security Manager (ASM) or Advanced Web Application Firewall module is present.
    Affected if The ASM/WAF module is installed and enabled on the system.
  2. Determine the installed BIG-IP version
    In the configuration utility, go to Main > Overview > Overview or run 'tmsh show sys version' to retrieve the installed version number.
    Affected if The version is 16.0.0 through 16.0.1.1 (inclusive), which falls within the affected range of >= 16.0.0 and < 16.0.1.2.
  3. Identify guest-level user accounts
    In the configuration utility, navigate to User Management > User List or use 'tmsh list auth user' to enumerate all defined user accounts. Identify accounts assigned the 'guest' role.
    Affected if At least one user account with guest-level privileges exists on the system.
  4. Check WAF/ASM access for guest users
    In the configuration utility, navigate to the WAF/ASM module and examine the permissions assigned to guest users. Verify if guest users have any access to security policy configuration or request handling features.
    Affected if Guest-level accounts have any form of WAF/ASM access or can interact with the security configuration interface.

The system is affected if it runs BIG-IP version 16.0.0 through 16.0.1.1 with the WAF/ASM module enabled and has guest-level user accounts that can access the WAF/ASM configuration utility.

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 16.0.1.2 or later
Fixed in 16.0.1.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade F5 BIG-IP to version 16.0.1.2 or later, or restrict guest user permissions in the WAF/ASM configuration to prevent unauthorized request handling.

Recommended fix High confidence

16.0.1.2 or later

  1. 1. Back up the current BIG-IP configuration using the Configuration Utility or tmsh command: 'tmsh save sys config partion all'
  2. 2. Log in to the F5 BIG-IP management interface or download the Hotfix ISO from downloads.f5.com
  3. 3. Navigate to the Software Volume Management section in the Configuration Utility
  4. 4. Upload and install the BIG-IP version 16.0.1.2 or later
  5. 5. Verify the installation completed successfully and the system is running the patched version
  6. 6. Test that the WAF/ASM functionality is working as expected
  7. 7. Verify the fix by confirming that guest users can no longer perform SSRF attacks through the WAF/ASM Configuration utility

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

Fix this in Big Ip Advanced Web Application Firewall Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,776.

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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-2021-23029 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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