dbcve.org
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2022-23023

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 16.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 BIG-IP version 16.1.x before 16.1.2.1, 15.1.x before 15.1.5, 14.1.x before 14.1.4.5, and all versions of 13.1.x and 12.1.x, and BIG-IQ all versions of 8.x and 7.x, undisclosed requests by an authenticated iControl REST user 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 · moderate confidence

An authenticated iControl REST user can send undisclosed requests that cause excessive memory utilization on affected F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ devices, potentially leading to denial of service through memory exhaustion. This affects multiple version ranges across BIG-IP 12.1.x through 16.1.x and BIG-IQ 7.x-8.x.

MitigationUpgrade to BIG-IP 16.1.2.1 or later, 15.1.5 or later, 14.1.4.5 or later; BIG-IQ users should upgrade to a supported version. Consider implementing iControl REST authentication controls and monitoring for anomalous API activity.

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:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.4>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.4>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.4>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.2
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.4>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.4>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.4>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.2
Big Ip Advanced Web Application FirewallApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.4>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.4>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.4>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.2
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.4>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.4>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.4>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.2
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.4>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.4>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.4>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.2
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.4>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.4>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.4>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.2
Big Ip Ddos Hybrid DefenderApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.4>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.4>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.4>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.2
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.5>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.4>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.4>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.4>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.2

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify the F5 product type
    Run 'tmsh show sys hardware' or check the system banner at login to confirm whether the device is BIG-IP or BIG-IQ
    Affected if The device is BIG-IP or BIG-IQ
  2. Check the installed BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or query 'GET /mgmt/tm/sys/version' via iControl REST to retrieve the software version
    Affected if The version falls within 12.1.0-12.1.5, 13.1.0-13.1.4, 14.1.0-14.1.4, 15.1.0-15.1.4, or 16.1.0-16.1.2
  3. Check the installed BIG-IQ version
    Run 'bigiq_version' command or query 'GET /mgmt/shared/system' via iControl REST to retrieve the software version
    Affected if The version falls within the 7.x-8.x range listed in the advisory
  4. Verify iControl REST is accessible
    Confirm the iControl REST service is running by checking 'tmsh show sys service restjpd' or attempting a local authentication request to the REST API on port 443
    Affected if iControl REST is enabled and reachable (this is required for the exploit to function)

You are affected if you are running BIG-IP within versions 12.1.0-16.1.2 (excluding fixed releases) or BIG-IQ 7.x-8.x, AND iControl REST is accessible to authenticated users.

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 a release after 16.1.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to BIG-IP 16.1.2.1 or later, 15.1.5 or later, 14.1.4.5 or later; BIG-IQ users should upgrade to a supported version. Consider implementing iControl REST authentication controls and monitoring for anomalous API activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

16.1.2.1+ (or latest 16.1.x); 15.1.5+ (or latest 15.1.x); 14.1.4.5+ (or latest 14.1.x)

  1. Identify the currently installed BIG-IP version and module(s) affected
  2. Review the F5 End of Technical Support (EoTS) policy to confirm your current version status
  3. For versions 12.1.x and 13.1.x: Plan migration to a currently supported version (14.1.x, 15.1.x, or 16.1.x) as these branches are EoTS and will not receive patches
  4. For version 14.1.x: Upgrade to 14.1.4.5 or later (recommended: latest 14.1.x stable release)
  5. For version 15.1.x: Upgrade to 15.1.5 or later (recommended: latest 15.1.x stable release)
  6. For version 16.1.x: Upgrade to 16.1.2.1 or later (recommended: latest 16.1.x stable release)
  7. Before upgrading, review F5 release notes and upgrade guides for any compatibility notes or breaking changes
  8. Perform upgrade in a test/staging environment first to validate compatibility with your configuration
Caveat Review F5 upgrade documentation for version-specific notes; 12.1.x and 13.1.x branches are EoTS and require migration to supported versions

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
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-23023 — 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-2022-23023 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