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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2025-54500

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.1.10.8 / 16.1.6.1 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
An HTTP/2 implementation flaw allows a denial-of-service (DoS) that uses malformed HTTP/2 control frames in order to break the max concurrent streams limit (HTTP/2 MadeYouReset Attack).  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 an HTTP/2 implementation vulnerability where malformed control frames can bypass the max concurrent streams limit, allowing an attacker to exhaust server resources and cause denial of service. The attack exploits improper validation of HTTP/2 stream management, potentially allowing unlimited concurrent streams beyond configured limits.

MitigationApply vendor patches for the affected HTTP/2 implementation that enforce proper stream limit validation and reject malformed control frames. Consider rate limiting and connection limits as additional defensive measures until patching is feasible.

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, < 15.1.10.8>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.6.1>= 17.1.0, < 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, < 17.5.1.2
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.10.8>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.6.1>= 17.1.0, < 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, < 17.5.1.2
Big Ip Advanced Web Application FirewallApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.10.8>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.6.1>= 17.1.0, < 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, < 17.5.1.2
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.10.8>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.6.1>= 17.1.0, < 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, < 17.5.1.2
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.10.8>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.6.1>= 17.1.0, < 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, < 17.5.1.2
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.10.8>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.6.1>= 17.1.0, < 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, < 17.5.1.2
Big Ip Application Visibility And ReportingApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.10.8>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.6.1>= 17.1.0, < 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, < 17.5.1.2
Big Ip Automation ToolchainApplication
Affected:>= 15.1.0, < 15.1.10.8>= 16.1.0, < 16.1.6.1>= 17.1.0, < 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, < 17.5.1.2

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
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 installed Big IP version
    Run command: tmsh show sys version or cat /etc/product_version. Also check via Web UI: System > Software Management > BIG-IP Version (Hotfix)
    Affected if The version falls within any of these ranges: 15.1.0-15.1.10.7, 16.1.0-16.1.6.0, 17.1.0-17.1.2, or 17.5.0-17.5.1.1
  2. Confirm HTTP/2 profile is enabled
    Run: tmsh list ltm profile http2. Check if any http2 profiles exist and are assigned to virtual servers via: tmsh list ltm virtual one-virtual-server-name profiles
    Affected if HTTP/2 profiles are created and attached to virtual servers, exposing the vulnerable HTTP/2 implementation
  3. Check max concurrent streams setting
    Run: tmsh list ltm profile http2 <profile-name> all-properties. Look for the 'max concurrent streams' setting (default is typically 100)
    Affected if The max concurrent streams limit is set to any value - the vulnerability allows bypassing this limit entirely with malformed frames, so any configuration is potentially affected if HTTP/2 is enabled on a vulnerable version

You are affected if you are running any F5 Big IP module version 15.1.0-15.1.10.7, 16.1.0-16.1.6.0, 17.1.0-17.1.2, or 17.5.0-17.5.1.1 AND have HTTP/2 profiles enabled on virtual servers.

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 15.1.10.8 / 16.1.6.1 / 17.1.3 or later
Fixed in 15.1.10.816.1.6.117.1.3
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches for the affected HTTP/2 implementation that enforce proper stream limit validation and reject malformed control frames. Consider rate limiting and connection limits as additional defensive measures until patching is feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the fixed hotfix release: 15.1.10.8 (for 15.1.x branch), 16.1.6.1 (for 16.1.x branch), 17.1.3 (for 17.1.x branch), or 17.5.1.2 (for 17.5.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current BIG-IP version by running 'tmsh show sys version' or checking the web UI startup page.
  2. 2. Determine which version branch you are on (15.1.x, 16.1.x, 17.1.x, or 17.5.x) and plan upgrade to the corresponding fixed release.
  3. 3. Create a full UCS backup of the current configuration using 'tmsh save sys ucs /var/local/ucs/backup_name.ucs' or via the web UI (System > Archives > Create).
  4. 4. Download the appropriate hotfix from the F5 Downloads portal (login required) matching your version branch: 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3, or 17.5.1.2.
  5. 5. Upload the ISO/image to the BIG-IP using SCP or the web UI (Software Images > Upload).
  6. 6. Verify the image integrity by checking the checksum against F5's published hashes.
  7. 7. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade will require a brief service interruption.
  8. 8. Install the hotfix via 'tmsh install sys software hotfix <volume> <image-name>' or via the web UI (Software Management > Hotfix Install).
Caveat Standard F5 hotfix upgrade typically preserves configuration, but always test in a non-production environment first; review F5 release notes for any known issues specific to the target version

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2025-54500 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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