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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2023-29163

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.1.5.4 / 15.1.8.2 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
When UDP profile with idle timeout set to immediate or the value 0 is configured on a virtual server, undisclosed traffic can cause TMM to terminate.  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 vulnerability in F5 BIG-IP allows undisclosed network traffic to cause the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) to terminate when a UDP profile is configured with idle timeout set to immediate or 0 on a virtual server, resulting in denial of service.

MitigationConfigure UDP profile idle timeout to a non-zero value greater than immediate, or apply available vendor patches for affected versions. Note that software versions at End of Technical Support were not evaluated.

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:>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.5.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.8.2>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.3.4= 17.0.0
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.5.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.8.2>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.3.4= 17.0.0
Big Ip Advanced Web Application FirewallApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.5.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.8.2>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.3.4= 17.0.0
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.5.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.8.2>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.3.4= 17.0.0
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.5.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.8.2>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.3.4= 17.0.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.5.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.8.2>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.3.4= 17.0.0
Big Ip Application Visibility And ReportingApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.5.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.8.2>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.3.4= 17.0.0
Big Ip Carrier Grade NatApplication
Affected:>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.5.4>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.8.2>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.3.4= 17.0.0

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. Check BIG-IP version
    Run `tmsh show /sys version` or `bigip_version` command to determine the installed version
    Affected if Version matches: 14.1.0 to 14.1.5.3, 15.1.0 to 15.1.8.1, 16.1.0 to 16.1.3.3, or exactly 17.0.0
  2. List UDP profiles and idle timeout settings
    Run `tmsh list /ltm udp-profile all-properties` to view all UDP profiles and their idle-timeout configuration
    Affected if Any UDP profile has idle-timeout set to immediate or 0
  3. Identify virtual servers using affected UDP profiles
    Run `tmsh list /ltm virtual all` and cross-reference with UDP profiles that have idle-timeout set to immediate or 0
    Affected if A virtual server is bound to a UDP profile with idle-timeout configured as immediate or 0

Environment is affected if running an affected BIG-IP version AND a virtual server uses a UDP profile with idle-timeout set to immediate or 0.

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 14.1.5.4 / 15.1.8.2 / 16.1.3.4 or later
Fixed in 14.1.5.415.1.8.216.1.3.4
Interim mitigation

Configure UDP profile idle timeout to a non-zero value greater than immediate, or apply available vendor patches for affected versions. Note that software versions at End of Technical Support were not evaluated.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to 14.1.5.4 or later (14.1.x), 15.1.8.2 or later (15.1.x), 16.1.3.4 or later (16.1.x), or 17.1.0 or later (17.x)

  1. 1. Identify the current BIG-IP version by running 'tmsh show sys version' on the command line
  2. 2. Determine which BIG-IP module (APM, AFM, ASM, etc.) is affected in your deployment
  3. 3. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade
  4. 4. Back up the BIG-IP configuration using 'tmsh save sys config'
  5. 5. Download the appropriate hotfix from F5 Networks (my.f5.com) for your major version
  6. 6. Upload and install the hotfix: tmsh install sys software hotfix <hotfix-file>
  7. 7. Verify the installation: tmsh show sys software
  8. 8. Reboot the system to load the fixed code: tmsh reboot
Caveat Review F5 release notes for your target version for any configuration or behavior changes; always test in a non-production environment first

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
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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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-2023-29163 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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