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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2026-42919

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 17.5.1 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
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
A vulnerability exists in BIG-IP systems that may allow an authenticated attacker with administrative access to escalate their privileges. A successful exploit may allow the attacker to cross a security boundary.  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

CVE-2026-42919 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in F5 BIG-IP systems that allows an authenticated attacker with administrative privileges to escalate their privileges beyond their assigned role. Successful exploitation may allow the attacker to cross security boundaries, potentially gaining unauthorized access to sensitive resources or functions.

MitigationApply F5's official patches when available. Until then, strictly limit administrative access to trusted personnel only, enforce least-privilege administrative roles, and monitor for suspicious privilege escalation activity in audit logs.

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 the installed BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or 'bigpipe version' from the command line to obtain the running software version
    Affected if The version falls within 17.1.0-17.1.3, 17.5.0-17.5.1, 21.0.0, or 16.1.0-16.1.6
  2. Confirm installed modules
    Run 'tmsh list sys provision' to list all provisioned BIG-IP modules
    Affected if Any of the following modules are provisioned: APM, AFM, ASM, Analytics, AAM, AVR, or Automation Toolchain, and the version is affected
  3. Review user role assignments
    Run 'tmsh list auth user' to view all administrative users and their assigned roles
    Affected if Users with administrative roles other than full admin exist, as the vulnerability allows escalation beyond assigned roles
  4. Examine audit logs for privilege changes
    Review logs at /var/log/audit for entries containing 'role', 'privilege', or 'user modification' particularly those made by users with non-full-admin roles
    Affected if Unexpected role modifications or privilege escalation attempts are logged for users who should not have full administrative access
  5. Check for suspicious admin sessions
    Run 'tmsh show auth user' to view active administrative sessions and compare against expected administrative personnel
    Affected if Administrative sessions exist from accounts that should not have elevated privileges based on their assigned role

You are affected if your BIG-IP version matches the affected ranges AND you have multiple administrative user roles configured beyond a single full administrator account.

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 F5's official patches when available. Until then, strictly limit administrative access to trusted personnel only, enforce least-privilege administrative roles, and monitor for suspicious privilege escalation activity in audit logs.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to the fixed maintenance release as specified in the F5 security advisory for your version branch (versions beyond 17.1.3, 17.5.1, 16.1.6, and 21.0.0)

  1. 1. Navigate to the F5 BIG-IP support portal at my.f5.com and locate the security advisory for CVE-2026-42919
  2. 2. Identify the specific fixed version for your current BIG-IP version branch (16.1.x, 17.1.x, 17.5.x, or 21.0.0) from the advisory
  3. 3. Download the recommended hotfix or maintenance release from F5 Downloads
  4. 4. Review the F5 release notes for any known issues or prerequisites before upgrading
  5. 5. Plan a maintenance window and ensure you have a complete backup of the BIG-IP configuration
  6. 6. Upload the ISO/image to the BIG-IP and install the update via the web interface (System > Software Management > Image List > Upload) or via TMSH: 'install volume <volume_name> recursive <image_name>'
  7. 7. After installation, reboot the BIG-IP to boot from the new volume
  8. 8. Verify the BIG-IP services are operational and confirm the version matches the expected fixed release
Caveat Standard F5 maintenance upgrades typically retain configuration compatibility, but always review release notes for any migration notes or deprecated features 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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,392.

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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-2026-42919 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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