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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2023-43611

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.2.4.4 / 15.1.9 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The BIG-IP Edge Client Installer on macOS does not follow best practices for elevating privileges during the installation process.  This vulnerability is due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2023-38418.  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

The BIG-IP Edge Client Installer on macOS contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where it does not follow best practices for elevating privileges during the installation process. This is an incomplete fix for CVE-2023-38418, indicating the original vulnerability was not fully remediated.

MitigationApply the updated BIG-IP Edge Client Installer version that properly addresses the privilege elevation best practices. Organizations should update to the latest supported version and verify the installation process follows secure privilege escalation patterns.

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:>= 7.2.3, < 7.2.4.4>= 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 if BIG-IP Edge Client is installed on macOS
    Check for the presence of the F5 BIG-IP Edge Client application in /Applications or via 'ls /Applications | grep -i edge' command
    Affected if The Edge Client application is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed Edge Client version on macOS
    Right-click the BIG-IP Edge Client.app, select 'Get Info', or run: 'defaults read /Applications/BIG-IP\ Edge\ Client.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleVersion'
    Affected if The version displayed matches any of the affected version ranges: 7.2.3 to 7.2.4.4, 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
  3. Confirm the affected BIG-IP module type
    Identify which BIG-IP module (APM, AFM, ASM, Analytics, AAM, AVR, or CGN) is in use, as the Edge Client relates to these modules. Check via 'tmsh show sys module' or the management console
    Affected if Any of the listed modules (APM, AFM, ASM, Analytics, AAM, AVR, or CGN) are running on the affected version ranges

The system is affected if the BIG-IP Edge Client Installer for macOS is installed and its version falls within 7.2.3-7.2.4.4, 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.

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 7.2.4.4 / 15.1.9 / 16.1.4 or later
Fixed in 7.2.4.415.1.916.1.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the updated BIG-IP Edge Client Installer version that properly addresses the privilege elevation best practices. Organizations should update to the latest supported version and verify the installation process follows secure privilege escalation patterns.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to BIG-IP 7.2.4.4 or later for 7.x versions; Upgrade to BIG-IP 15.1.9 or later for 15.x versions; Upgrade to BIG-IP 16.1.4 or later for 16.x versions; Note: Versions 13.x and 14.x have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) and should be upgraded to a supported release

  1. 1. Identify the exact BIG-IP module and version currently installed by running 'tmsh show sys version' or checking the F5 web UI
Caveat Upgrading BIG-IP versions may require configuration review; ensure backups are taken before upgrade; some legacy configurations may need adjustment

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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-2023-43611 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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