dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 31 May 2022. Known ransomware use
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2022-1388

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.1.5 / 14.1.4.6 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware High EPSS Public exploit 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 F5 BIG-IP 16.1.x versions prior to 16.1.2.2, 15.1.x versions prior to 15.1.5.1, 14.1.x versions prior to 14.1.4.6, 13.1.x versions prior to 13.1.5, and all 12.1.x and 11.6.x versions, undisclosed requests may bypass iControl REST authentication. 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 iControl REST interface contains an authentication bypass vulnerability allowing undisclosed requests to bypass authentication mechanisms. This could permit unauthenticated remote attackers to execute administrative actions on affected BIG-IP devices.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches by upgrading to fixed versions (16.1.2.2, 15.1.5.1, 14.1.4.6, or 13.1.5). If patching is not immediately possible, restrict access to the management interface to trusted networks or disable iControl REST if not required.

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, <= 12.1.6>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.4.6>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.5.1>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.2.2
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.6>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.4.6>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.5.1>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.2.2
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.6>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.4.6>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.5.1>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.2.2
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.6>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.4.6>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.5.1>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.2.2
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.6>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.4.6>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.5.1>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.2.2
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.6>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.4.6>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.5.1>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.2.2
Big Ip Fraud Protection ServiceApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.6>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.4.6>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.5.1>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.2.2
Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.6.1, <= 11.6.5>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.6>= 13.1.0, < 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.4.6>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.5.1>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.2.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Confirm F5 BIG-IP is installed
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or check the GUI login page for F5 branding. If the system is not F5 BIG-IP, this CVE does not apply.
    Affected if The system is not F5 BIG-IP hardware, virtual edition, or software.
  2. Determine the installed BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or access the BIG-IP Configuration utility and check the version displayed on the login page or in System > About. Compare the version number to the affected ranges: 11.6.1-11.6.5, 12.1.0-12.1.6, 13.1.0-13.1.4, 14.1.0-14.1.4.5, 15.1.0-15.1.5.0, or 16.1.0-16.1.2.1.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected version ranges listed.
  3. Verify iControl REST API is accessible
    Attempt to reach the iControl REST endpoint: send an HTTP request to https://<target>/mgmt/tm/util/bash (or /mgmt/shared/authz/users) using curl or a similar tool. A response (even an error) indicates the REST API is exposed.
    Affected if The iControl REST API at /mgmt/ is reachable from your testing location.
  4. Check management interface exposure
    Review the BIG-IP network configuration in tmsh using 'tmsh list sys management-ip' or check the BigIP Configuration utility under Network > Management. Determine if the management interface is bound to any IP address accessible from untrusted networks.
    Affected if The management interface (port 443 or 8443) is bound to a routable IP address or the iControl REST API is accessible from untrusted networks.

You are affected if you are running any F5 BIG-IP version within 11.6.1-11.6.5, 12.1.0-12.1.6, 13.1.0-13.1.4, 14.1.0-14.1.4.5, 15.1.0-15.1.5.0, or 16.1.0-16.1.2.1 AND the iControl REST API is network-accessible to untrusted sources.

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 13.1.5 / 14.1.4.6 / 15.1.5.1 or later
Fixed in 13.1.514.1.4.615.1.5.1
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches by upgrading to fixed versions (16.1.2.2, 15.1.5.1, 14.1.4.6, or 13.1.5). If patching is not immediately possible, restrict access to the management interface to trusted networks or disable iControl REST if not required.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to 16.1.2.2+, 15.1.5.1+, 14.1.4.6+, or 13.1.5+ depending on your current major version branch

  1. Identify the current BIG-IP version using 'tmsh show sys version' or the web UI
  2. Determine which BIG-IP modules (APM, AFM, Analytics, AAM, ASM, DNS, FPS, GTM) are in use
  3. For BIG-IP 16.1.x: Upgrade to version 16.1.2.2 or later
  4. For BIG-IP 15.1.x: Upgrade to version 15.1.5.1 or later
  5. For BIG-IP 14.1.x: Upgrade to version 14.1.4.6 or later
  6. For BIG-IP 13.1.x: Upgrade to version 13.1.5 or later
  7. For BIG-IP 12.1.x and 11.6.x: These versions have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS); plan migration to a supported version (14.1.4.6+, 15.1.5.1+, or 16.1.2.2+)
  8. Download the appropriate hotfix from downloads.f5.com after authenticating with valid credentials
Caveat BIG-IP 12.1.x and 11.6.x have reached End of Technical Support and require migration to a newer major version; ensure compatibility testing is performed before upgrading production systems

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

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-1388 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-1388 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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