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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2026-40462

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 17.5.1 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
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
Incorrect permission assignment vulnerabilities exist in iControl REST and TMOS shell (tmsh) undisclosed command which may allow an authenticated attacker to view sensitive information.  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

F5 BIG-IP systems contain incorrect permission assignment vulnerabilities in iControl REST and TMOS shell (tmsh) interfaces. An authenticated attacker with standard user credentials can exploit these permission misconfigurations to view sensitive information that should be restricted based on role-based access controls.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches or updates for affected F5 BIG-IP versions. Review and enforce least-privilege principles in iControl REST and tmsh role configurations to ensure users can only access resources appropriate to their assigned roles.

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:>= 17.1.0, <= 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, <= 17.5.1= 21.0.0>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.6
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 17.1.0, <= 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, <= 17.5.1= 21.0.0>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.6
Big Ip Advanced Web Application FirewallApplication
Affected:>= 17.1.0, <= 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, <= 17.5.1= 21.0.0>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.6
Big Ip AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 17.1.0, <= 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, <= 17.5.1= 21.0.0>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.6
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 17.1.0, <= 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, <= 17.5.1= 21.0.0>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.6
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 17.1.0, <= 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, <= 17.5.1= 21.0.0>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.6
Big Ip Application Visibility And ReportingApplication
Affected:>= 17.1.0, <= 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, <= 17.5.1= 21.0.0>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.6
Big Ip Automation ToolchainApplication
Affected:>= 17.1.0, <= 17.1.3>= 17.5.0, <= 17.5.1= 21.0.0>= 16.1.0, <= 16.1.6

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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 `tmsh show sys version` or `bigpipe version` from the command line to retrieve the exact software version
    Affected if The version falls within 16.1.0-16.1.6, 17.1.0-17.1.3, 17.5.0-17.5.1, or equals 21.0.0
  2. Confirm iControl REST interface is accessible
    Verify the iControl REST daemon is running using `tmsh list rest daemon` or by checking if port 443 with REST API responds to requests
    Affected if iControl REST is exposed and accepting authenticated requests
  3. Review user role assignments in tmsh
    Run `tmsh list auth user` to enumerate all local users and their assigned roles. Check for standard or limited roles that should not have elevated access
    Affected if Standard users exist with roles that may grant unintended access to sensitive resources
  4. Test for privilege escalation via REST API
    Using a standard (non-admin) user account, attempt GET requests to restricted endpoints such as `/mgmt/tm/sys/` or `/mgmt/shared/authz/users/` to see if sensitive data is returned
    Affected if A standard user account can retrieve information that should be restricted to administrator roles

Your environment is affected if the BIG-IP version matches one of the vulnerable ranges AND iControl REST is accessible to standard users who can view restricted data beyond their intended role permissions.

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 a release after 17.5.1
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches or updates for affected F5 BIG-IP versions. Review and enforce least-privilege principles in iControl REST and tmsh role configurations to ensure users can only access resources appropriate to their assigned roles.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

16.1.7+, 17.1.4+, 17.5.2+, or 21.0.1+ (depending on your major version branch)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed BIG-IP version by running `tmsh show sys version` or checking the management console.
  2. 2. Determine which BIG-IP module (APM, AFM, ASM, etc.) is in use and its specific version.
  3. 3. For BIG-IP version 16.1.x: Upgrade to version 16.1.7 or later.
  4. 4. For BIG-IP version 17.1.x: Upgrade to version 17.1.4 or later.
  5. 5. For BIG-IP version 17.5.x: Upgrade to version 17.5.2 or later.
  6. 6. For BIG-IP version 21.0.x: Upgrade to version 21.0.1 or later.
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the fix by confirming the version in the management console or via `tmsh show sys version`.
  8. 8. Review iControl REST and tmsh permissions to ensure only authorized administrators have access to sensitive commands.
Caveat Standard upgrade considerations apply - review F5 release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes before upgrading

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 / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2026-40462 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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