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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2024-23979

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-14
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 SSL Client Certificate LDAP or Certificate Revocation List Distribution Point (CRLDP) authentication profile is configured on a virtual server, undisclosed requests can cause an increase in CPU 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

This is a denial-of-service vulnerability where SSL Client Certificate authentication using LDAP or CRLDP (Certificate Revocation List Distribution Point) profiles on virtual servers can be triggered by specific undisclosed requests, causing excessive CPU consumption. The vulnerability stems from how the authentication profile processes certificate validation requests.

MitigationIf the SSL Client Certificate LDAP or CRLDP authentication feature is not essential, disable it on affected virtual servers. Otherwise, apply vendor-provided patches and implement rate limiting or DoS protection mechanisms at the virtual server or network edge.

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:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4= 17.1.0
Big Iq Centralized ManagementApplication
Affected:>= 8.0.0, <= 8.3.0
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4= 17.1.0
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4= 17.1.0
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4= 17.1.0
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4= 17.1.0
Big Ip Domain Name SystemApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4= 17.1.0
Big Ip Fraud Protection ServiceApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.9>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.4= 17.1.0

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. Identify the installed Big-IP or Big-IQ product version
    Run command: tmsh show /sys version or log into the web UI and navigate to System > Software Management > Boot Locations > the active volume
    Affected if The version falls within these ranges: Big-IP 15.1.0-15.1.8, 16.1.0-16.1.3, or 17.1.0; Big-IQ 8.0.0-8.3.0
  2. Confirm SSL Client Certificate authentication is configured on any virtual server
    Run: tmsh list /ltm virtual all and look for references to 'client-ssl' or 'ssl-client-cert' in the authentication section, or via web UI under Local Traffic > Virtual Servers > select each virtual > Security > Policies > Client SSL Certificate Authentication
    Affected if A virtual server has SSL Client Certificate authentication profile assigned
  3. Verify the authentication profile uses LDAP or CRLDP method
    Run: tmsh list /ltm authentication radius or tmsh list /ltm authentication ldap (or check via Access > Authentication > LDAP/CRLDP in the web UI for APM configurations). Also inspect the virtual server authentication configuration for 'ldap' or 'crldp' type
    Affected if The client certificate authentication is configured to use LDAP or CRLDP as the validation backend
  4. Identify which virtual servers have the vulnerable authentication combination
    Run: tmsh list /ltm virtual all one-line | grep -i 'client-ssl' combined with checking the associated authentication profile type. In the web UI, review each virtual server's Client SSL Certificate settings under the Security tab
    Affected if Any virtual server has SSL Client Certificate authentication enabled with LDAP or CRLDP backend on an affected version

You are affected if you run an affected Big-IP or Big-IQ version AND have any virtual server with SSL Client Certificate authentication configured using LDAP or CRLDP profiles.

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

If the SSL Client Certificate LDAP or CRLDP authentication feature is not essential, disable it on affected virtual servers. Otherwise, apply vendor-provided patches and implement rate limiting or DoS protection mechanisms at the virtual server or network edge.

Recommended fix High confidence

BIG-IP 15.1.9+, 16.1.4+, 17.1.1+ | Big-IQ Centralized Management 8.4.0+

  1. 1. Identify all virtual servers configured with SSL Client Certificate LDAP or Certificate Revocation List Distribution Point (CRLDP) authentication profiles
  2. 2. Check the current BIG-IP/Big-IQ version using 'tmsh show sys version' or the web management console
  3. 3. For BIG-IP versions 15.1.x: upgrade to version 15.1.9 or later
  4. 4. For BIG-IP versions 16.1.x: upgrade to version 16.1.4 or later
  5. 5. For BIG-IP version 17.1.0: upgrade to version 17.1.1 or later
  6. 6. For Big-IQ Centralized Management versions 8.0.0-8.3.0: upgrade to version 8.4.0 or later
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the authentication profiles are functioning correctly and CPU utilization has returned to normal levels
  8. 8. Monitor system resources to confirm the vulnerability is remediated
Caveat Review F5 release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes between your current version and the target upgrade version before proceeding

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
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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-2024-23979 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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