Big Iq Centralized ManagementApplication · F5

CVE-2023-29240

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.3.0 or later.
See remediation →
60/100
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
An authenticated attacker granted a Viewer or Auditor role on a BIG-IQ can upload arbitrary files using an undisclosed iControl REST endpoint.  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

This vulnerability in F5 BIG-IQ allows an authenticated user with only Viewer or Auditor role (low-privilege) to upload arbitrary files via an undisclosed iControl REST endpoint. The attack is network-based, requires no user interaction, and while the CVSS indicates high confidentiality impact, the arbitrary file upload primarily enables integrity compromise through placement of malicious files on the system.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patch for BIG-IQ when available. Until then, restrict network access to iControl REST endpoints to only trusted administrative networks and monitor for suspicious file upload 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 Iq Centralized ManagementApplication
Affected:>= 8.0.0, < 8.3.0

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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. Identify the BIG-IQ version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or check the BIG-IQ GUI under System > Software Management > Image List to confirm the installed version.
    Affected if The installed version is 8.0.0 through 8.2.x (any version >= 8.0.0 and < 8.3.0)
  2. Verify iControl REST network exposure
    Review network firewall rules or access profiles to determine if TCP port 443 (or custom iControl REST port) is exposed to untrusted networks.
    Affected if iControl REST endpoints are reachable from networks outside the trusted administrative zone
  3. Audit Viewer and Auditor role assignments
    Use BIG-IQ GUI under User Management > Users or run 'tmsh list auth user' to list all users and their assigned roles.
    Affected if Any user account possesses only the Viewer or Auditor role, as these low-privilege accounts should not have file upload capability
  4. Inspect for unexpected files in system directories
    Check directories such as /shared/uploads, /var/tmp, or the document root (/var/www/html) for newly created or unexpected files.
    Affected if Unknown or suspicious files exist in these locations, indicating possible arbitrary upload exploitation

You are affected if BIG-IQ version is 8.0.0 through 8.2.x AND iControl REST is network-accessible AND low-privilege Viewer/Auditor accounts exist.

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 8.3.0 or later
Fixed in 8.3.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patch for BIG-IQ when available. Until then, restrict network access to iControl REST endpoints to only trusted administrative networks and monitor for suspicious file upload activity.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

BIG-IQ 8.3.0 or later

  1. Upgrade BIG-IQ Centralized Management from versions 8.0.0 - 8.2.x to version 8.3.0 or later
  2. After upgrade, verify that Viewer and Auditor roles no longer have file upload capabilities via iControl REST endpoints
  3. Confirm the upgrade was successful by checking the BIG-IQ system version in the web interface under System > Software Management > BIG-IQ Centralized Manager
Caveat Review F5 release notes for version 8.3.0 for any compatibility or configuration changes before upgrading

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

Fix this in Big Iq Centralized Management Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-29240 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2023-29240 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