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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2026-40631

HIGH · 8.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 17.5.1 or later.
See remediation →
93/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
An authenticated attacker with the Resource Administrator or Administrator role can modify configuration objects through iControl SOAP resulting in privilege escalation.  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 privilege escalation vulnerability in F5 BIG-IP systems where an authenticated attacker with Resource Administrator or Administrator role can modify configuration objects through the iControl SOAP API to elevate privileges beyond their assigned role. The iControl SOAP interface fails to properly restrict configuration modifications that can lead to escalated privileges.

MitigationRestrict iControl SOAP access to only necessary administrative personnel, implement additional authorization checks on configuration modification operations, and consider network segmentation to limit SOAP API exposure.

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

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/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. Check installed BIG-IP version
    Run command: tmsh show /sys version or check /etc/system-release
    Affected if Version matches 17.1.0-17.1.3, 17.5.0-17.5.1, 16.1.0-16.1.6, or 21.0.0
  2. Identify installed BIG-IP modules
    Run: tmsh list /sys module or check /config/product.json for module list
    Affected if Any of these modules are present: APM, AFM, AWM, Analytics, AAM, ASM, AVR, or Automation Toolchain
  3. Verify iControl SOAP interface status
    Check if iControl SOAP is enabled by reviewing /etc/icontrol.conf or running: tmsh list /sys service icontrolsoap
    Affected if iControl SOAP service is enabled and listening
  4. Review user accounts with elevated roles
    Run: tmsh list /auth user or check the administrative user database for accounts with Resource Administrator or Administrator roles
    Affected if Multiple administrative accounts exist beyond the primary admin, or Resource Administrator accounts are present
  5. Check iControl SOAP network exposure
    Examine /config/bigip.conf for management interface bindings and review network access lists: tmsh list /sys management-ip
    Affected if iControl SOAP is accessible from non-localhost interfaces or untrusted networks

Your environment is affected if you run any of the listed version ranges, have any BIG-IP modules installed, and have iControl SOAP enabled with elevated-privilege accounts present.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 17.5.1
Interim mitigation

Restrict iControl SOAP access to only necessary administrative personnel, implement additional authorization checks on configuration modification operations, and consider network segmentation to limit SOAP API exposure.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $5,940
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,504.

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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-2026-40631 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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