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Big Ip Advanced Web Application FirewallApplication · F5

CVE-2023-23552

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.1.5.3 / 15.1.8 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 versions 17.0.x before 17.0.0.2, 16.1.x before 16.1.3.3, 15.1.0 before 15.1.8, 14.1.x before 14.1.5.3, and all versions of 13.1.x, when a BIG-IP Advanced WAF or BIG-IP ASM security policy is configured on a virtual server, undisclosed requests 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

A denial-of-service vulnerability exists in F5 BIG-IP Advanced WAF and ASM when security policies are configured on virtual servers. Undisclosed requests can cause excessive memory utilization, potentially leading to resource exhaustion and service unavailability.

MitigationUpgrade BIG-IP to version 17.0.0.2 or later (17.x), 16.1.3.3 or later (16.1.x), 15.1.8 or later (15.1.x), or 14.1.5.3 or later (14.1.x). Note that 13.1.x is affected with no fix available.

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:>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.5.3>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.8>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.3.3>= 17.0.0, < 17.0.0.2
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.5.3>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.8>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.3.3>= 17.0.0, < 17.0.0.2

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
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. Identify BIG-IP version
    Run `tmsh show sys version` or check `/etc/product_version` on the BIG-IP system
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 13.1.0-13.1.5, 14.1.0-14.1.5.2, 15.1.0-15.1.7, 16.1.0-16.1.3.2, or 17.0.0-17.0.0.1
  2. Verify AWF or ASM module is provisioned
    Run `tmsh list sys provision` and look for 'asm' or 'awaf' (Advanced WAF) entries with a provisioning level other than 'none'
    Affected if Either ASM or Advanced WAF module is provisioned on the device
  3. Confirm security policies exist on virtual servers
    Run `tmsh list security policy` to list all configured security policies, then cross-reference with virtual servers using `tmsh list ltm virtual` to see which virtual servers reference a security policy
    Affected if Any virtual server has a security policy assigned (the 'security-policy' option is configured)

You are affected if your BIG-IP runs a vulnerable version (13.1.x, 14.1.0-14.1.5.2, 15.1.0-15.1.7, 16.1.0-16.1.3.2, or 17.0.0-17.0.0.1) AND has Advanced WAF or ASM provisioned AND has security policies configured on virtual servers.

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 14.1.5.3 / 15.1.8 / 16.1.3.3 or later
Fixed in 14.1.5.315.1.816.1.3.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade BIG-IP to version 17.0.0.2 or later (17.x), 16.1.3.3 or later (16.1.x), 15.1.8 or later (15.1.x), or 14.1.5.3 or later (14.1.x). Note that 13.1.x is affected with no fix available.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the latest version in your current branch: 14.1.5.3+ for 14.1.x, 15.1.8+ for 15.1.x, 16.1.3.3+ for 16.1.x, or 17.0.0.2+ for 17.0.x. For 13.1.x (EoTS), migrate to a supported version branch.

  1. 1. Identify the current BIG-IP version running Advanced WAF (AWAF) or Application Security Manager (ASM)
  2. 2. Determine which version branch (13.1.x, 14.1.x, 15.1.x, 16.1.x, or 17.0.x) is currently in use
  3. 3. For 13.1.x: This version is listed as 'all versions affected' with no fix; plan migration to a supported version (14.1.5.3+, 15.1.8+, 16.1.3.3+, or 17.0.0.2+)
  4. 4. For 14.1.x: Upgrade to version 14.1.5.3 or later
  5. 5. For 15.1.x: Upgrade to version 15.1.8 or later
  6. 6. For 16.1.x: Upgrade to version 16.1.3.3 or later
  7. 7. For 17.0.x: Upgrade to version 17.0.0.2 or later
  8. 8. Before upgrading, review the F5 knowledge base for upgrade procedures and ensure proper backups are in place
Caveat 13.1.x has reached End of Technical Support and has no patch; migration to a supported branch is required. Review F5 upgrade documentation for compatibility notes.

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
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,420
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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-2023-23552 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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