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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2022-23015

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.1.4.4 / 15.1.4.1 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
On BIG-IP versions 16.x before 16.1.0, 15.1.x before 15.1.4.1, and 14.1.2.6-14.1.4.4, when a Client SSL profile is configured on a virtual server with Client Certificate Authentication set to request/require and Session Ticket enabled and configured, processing SSL traffic can cause an increase in memory resource utilization. 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

A memory exhaustion vulnerability in F5 BIG-IP allows remote attackers to cause increased memory utilization when a Client SSL profile is configured with Client Certificate Authentication set to request/require and Session Ticket enabled. This leads to potential denial of service via memory exhaustion when processing SSL traffic under these specific conditions.

MitigationUpgrade BIG-IP to version 16.1.0, 15.1.4.1, or the fixed 14.1.x version. Alternatively, if upgrading is not immediately possible, consider disabling Session Tickets or Client Certificate Authentication in affected Client SSL profiles as a temporary workaround.

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:>= 14.1.2.6, < 14.1.4.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.4.1>= 16.0.0, < 16.1.0
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.2.6, < 14.1.4.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.4.1>= 16.0.0, < 16.1.0
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.2.6, < 14.1.4.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.4.1>= 16.0.0, < 16.1.0
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.2.6, < 14.1.4.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.4.1>= 16.0.0, < 16.1.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.2.6, < 14.1.4.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.4.1>= 16.0.0, < 16.1.0
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.2.6, < 14.1.4.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.4.1>= 16.0.0, < 16.1.0
Big Ip Fraud Protection ServiceApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.2.6, < 14.1.4.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.4.1>= 16.0.0, < 16.1.0
Big Ip Global Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.2.6, < 14.1.4.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.4.1>= 16.0.0, < 16.1.0

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
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. Determine BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or check the BIG-IP web UI (System > Software Management > ISO Image) to find the installed version number.
    Affected if The installed version falls within these ranges: 14.1.2.6 through 14.1.4.3, 15.1.0 through 15.1.4.0, or 16.0.0 through 16.1.0 (but not including 16.1.0). If your version is outside these ranges, you are not affected by this CVE.
  2. Identify Client SSL profiles
    Run 'tmsh list ltm profile client-ssl all' to list all Client SSL profiles configured on the BIG-IP system, or access the web UI under Local Traffic > Profiles > SSL > Client.
    Affected if If no Client SSL profiles exist, the vulnerability cannot be triggered. Profiles must be present to proceed with further checks.
  3. Check Client Certificate Authentication setting
    For each Client SSL profile identified, run 'tmsh list ltm profile client-ssl <profile_name>' and look for the 'cert-verify' or 'client-cert-ca' setting. In the web UI, check the Client Certificate Authentication field under the profile settings.
    Affected if The profile is vulnerable only if Client Certificate Authentication is set to 'request' or 'require'. If set to 'ignore' or 'none', the specific condition for this CVE is not met.
  4. Check Session Ticket setting
    Run 'tmsh list ltm profile client-ssl <profile_name>' and look for 'session-ticket' or 'session-ticket-enabled' setting. In the web UI, check the Session Tickets option under the profile's general settings.
    Affected if The profile is vulnerable only if Session Tickets are enabled (set to 'enabled' or 'yes'). If Session Tickets are disabled, the memory exhaustion condition does not occur even with client cert authentication enabled.

You are affected if your BIG-IP version falls within the affected ranges AND you have a Client SSL profile with both Client Certificate Authentication set to request or require AND Session Tickets 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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 14.1.4.4 / 15.1.4.1 / 16.1.0 or later
Fixed in 14.1.4.415.1.4.116.1.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade BIG-IP to version 16.1.0, 15.1.4.1, or the fixed 14.1.x version. Alternatively, if upgrading is not immediately possible, consider disabling Session Tickets or Client Certificate Authentication in affected Client SSL profiles as a temporary workaround.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to BIG-IP 14.1.4.4+ (14.1.x branch), 15.1.4.1+ (15.1.x branch), or 16.1.0+ (16.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current BIG-IP version by running 'tmsh show sys version' or checking the web UI.
  2. 2. Determine which version branch you are on (14.1.x, 15.1.x, or 16.0.x).
  3. 3. Review current configuration and backup the BIG-IP configuration using 'tmsh save sys config' or the web UI.
  4. 4. Download the appropriate hotfix or base version from the F5 Networks downloads page: for 14.1.x use 14.1.4.4 or later, for 15.1.x use 15.1.4.1 or later, for 16.0.x use 16.1.0 or later.
  5. 5. Upload the ISO/image to the BIG-IP via the web UI (System > Software Management > Image List) or via SCP.
  6. 6. Install the new version using 'tmsh install sys software <volume-name> <image-name>' or via the web UI.
  7. 7. Reboot the BIG-IP to activate the new version.
  8. 8. After reboot, verify the new version is running with 'tmsh show sys version' and confirm the memory issue is resolved.
Caveat Standard upgrade risks apply - ensure configuration backup before upgrading and test in non-production environment first; review F5 release notes for any known issues in target version

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

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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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-2022-23015 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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