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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2023-41085

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.1.9 / 16.1.4 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 IPSec 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

This is a denial-of-service vulnerability in F5 BIG-IP where IPSec-configured Virtual Servers can be crashed by specific undisclosed network traffic, causing the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) to terminate. The vulnerability is network-exploitable and results in service disruption.

MitigationApply the F5 security update when available; until then, consider disabling IPSec on Virtual Servers or restricting IPSec traffic via network filtering if the specific trigger can be identified.

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:>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.5>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.5>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4
Big Ip Advanced Web Application FirewallApplication
Affected:>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.5>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.5>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.5>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.5>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4
Big Ip Application Visibility And ReportingApplication
Affected:>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.5>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4
Big Ip Carrier Grade NatApplication
Affected:>= 13.1.0, <= 13.1.5>= 14.1.0, <= 14.1.5>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4

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
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. Determine BIG-IP version
    Run the command 'tmsh show sys version' or check the GUI under Device Overview > System Information > Version
    Affected if The version falls within 13.1.0-13.1.5, 14.1.0-14.1.5, 15.1.0-15.1.8, or 16.1.0-16.1.3
  2. Identify IPSec-configured Virtual Servers
    Run 'tmsh list ltm virtual all' and examine the output for 'ipsec profile' settings under each virtual server definition
    Affected if Any Virtual Server has an IPSec profile explicitly referenced in its configuration

The environment is affected if the BIG-IP version is within the vulnerable ranges AND at least one Virtual Server has IPSec enabled.

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 15.1.9 / 16.1.4 or later
Fixed in 15.1.916.1.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the F5 security update when available; until then, consider disabling IPSec on Virtual Servers or restricting IPSec traffic via network filtering if the specific trigger can be identified.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to BIG-IP 13.1.6+, 14.1.6+, 15.1.9+, or 16.1.4+ depending on your current major version branch

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed BIG-IP version by running 'tmsh show sys version' or checking the web management console.
  2. 2. Determine which BIG-IP module (APM, AFM, ASM, etc.) is affected in your deployment.
  3. 3. For BIG-IP version 13.1.x: Upgrade to version 13.1.6 or later.
  4. 4. For BIG-IP version 14.1.x: Upgrade to version 14.1.6 or later.
  5. 5. For BIG-IP version 15.1.x: Upgrade to version 15.1.9 or later.
  6. 6. For BIG-IP version 16.1.x: Upgrade to version 16.1.4 or later.
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify IPSec virtual server configuration is functioning correctly.
  8. 8. Monitor TMM processes to confirm stability.
Caveat Upgrading BIG-IP software may require downtime and could impact existing configurations; test in staging 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
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

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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-2023-41085 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
  • 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