dbcve.org
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2022-23028

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.1.4 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 AFM version 16.x before 16.1.0, 15.1.x before 15.1.5, 14.1.x before 14.1.4.5, and all versions of 13.1.x, when global AFM SYN cookie protection (TCP Half Open flood vector) is activated in the AFM Device Dos or DOS profile, certain types of TCP connections will fail. 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

When global AFM SYN cookie protection (TCP Half Open flood mitigation) is enabled in BIG-IP AFM Device DoS or DoS profile on affected versions (16.x before 16.1.0, 15.1.x before 15.1.5, 14.1.x before 14.1.4.5, and all 13.1.x), a bug in the SYN cookie handling logic causes certain valid TCP connections to fail. The protection mechanism incorrectly processes some connection types, resulting in connection drops rather than legitimate SYN cookie protection.

MitigationUpgrade BIG-IP to version 16.1.0, 15.1.5, or 14.1.4.5 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling SYN cookie protection for affected vectors or implementing alternative SYN flood mitigation at the network perimeter while planning the upgrade.

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 Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.4>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.4>= 15.1.0, <= 15.1.4

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
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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. Check BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or check the GUI under System > Software > Volume List to identify the installed BIG-IP version.
    Affected if The installed version is 13.1.x (any), 14.1.0-14.1.4, or 15.1.0-15.1.4.
  2. Verify AFM module is licensed
    Run 'tmsh show sys module' or check the GUI under System > Platform > Licensing to confirm the Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) module is licensed and provisioned.
    Affected if AFM module is licensed and provisioned.
  3. Check for AFM Device DoS configuration
    Run 'tmsh list /sys dos device-wide' or navigate to Security > Device DoS > Device-Wide Settings in the GUI to inspect the Device DoS profile.
    Affected if A Device DoS profile exists and SYN cookie protection (tcp-half-open) is enabled.
  4. Check for AFM DoS profile configurations
    Run 'tmsh list /security dos profile' or navigate to Security > DoS Protection > DoS Profiles in the GUI to list all DoS profiles.
    Affected if Any DoS profile exists with SYN cookie protection (tcp-half-open) enabled for the vectors list.

The environment is affected if running a vulnerable BIG-IP version (13.1.x, 14.1.0-14.1.4, or 15.1.0-15.1.4) with AFM module licensed and either a Device DoS profile or a DoS profile with SYN cookie protection enabled for TCP Half Open flood mitigation.

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 15.1.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade BIG-IP to version 16.1.0, 15.1.5, or 14.1.4.5 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling SYN cookie protection for affected vectors or implementing alternative SYN flood mitigation at the network perimeter while planning the upgrade.

Recommended fix High confidence

14.1.4.5 for 14.1.x branches; 15.1.5 for 15.1.x branches; 16.1.0 or later for 16.x branches

  1. Upgrade to the appropriate fixed version based on your current branch: 14.1.4.5 for 14.1.x versions, 15.1.5 for 15.1.x versions, or 16.1.0 or later for 16.x versions
  2. After upgrade, verify that AFM SYN cookie protection functions correctly with your TCP connections
  3. Test critical TCP-based applications and services to confirm normal operation
Caveat Standard upgrade risks apply - review release notes for any configuration changes required; note that 13.1.x has no fix available and requires migration to a supported version branch

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

Fix this in Big Ip Advanced Firewall Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,580
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-23028 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