Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Primary rating from Vendor (f5) · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorVendor: f5
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Lifecycle Timeline
4DescriptionCVE.org
A vulnerability exists in BIG-IP and BIG-IQ systems where a highly privileged, authenticated attacker with at least the Certificate Manager role can modify configuration objects that allow running arbitrary commands. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.
AnalysisAI
Configuration manipulation in F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Certificate Manager allows authenticated attackers with high privileges to execute arbitrary commands with scope change. Attackers holding Certificate Manager role credentials can modify configuration objects to run system commands, escalating from administrative interface access to underlying system control. CVSS 8.7 reflects the scope change (S:C) enabling broader impact than typical privileged command injection. No public exploit identified at time of analysis. F5 has released vendor patches per K000160972.
Technical ContextAI
F5 BIG-IP is an application delivery controller (ADC) providing load balancing, SSL/TLS offloading, and web application firewall functions. BIG-IP and BIG-IQ share a common management framework with role-based access control (RBAC) including the Certificate Manager role for SSL/TLS certificate lifecycle operations. This vulnerability exploits CWE-250 (Execution with Unnecessary Privileges) where the Certificate Manager role's configuration modification permissions can be abused to inject commands into configuration objects that are later executed by higher-privileged system processes. The scope change in the CVSS vector (S:C) indicates the attacker can impact resources beyond the vulnerable component's security scope, suggesting execution context escalation from web management interface to underlying operating system with different privilege boundaries.
RemediationAI
Apply vendor-released patches per F5 Security Advisory K000160972 available at https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000160972, which specifies exact patched versions and hotfixes for affected BIG-IP and BIG-IQ releases. Until patching is complete, implement compensating controls: audit all accounts with Certificate Manager role privileges and restrict to minimum necessary personnel with documented business justification; enable enhanced logging for all configuration changes made by Certificate Manager role accounts through BIG-IP's audit logging (auth.info syslog facility); monitor for anomalous configuration object modifications especially targeting mcpd, tmsh, or system configuration files; consider temporarily revoking Certificate Manager role from accounts where certificate operations are not immediately required; implement network segmentation to restrict management interface access to dedicated administrative VLANs with jump host requirements. Note that restricting Certificate Manager role permissions may impact legitimate SSL/TLS certificate renewal operations and require manual administrator intervention for certificate lifecycle tasks. Review all recent Certificate Manager activity prior to patching to identify potential historical compromise.
Remote code execution in F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Configuration utility allows authenticated attackers with low privileges t
Resource exhaustion in BIG-IP Configuration utility allows remote unauthenticated attackers to trigger file descriptor e
Remote unauthenticated attackers can crash F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IP Next Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) processes via
Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) crash in F5 BIG-IP versions 16.1.0 through 21.0.0.1 allows unauthenticated remote a
Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) denial-of-service in F5 BIG-IP DNS affects systems with DNS cache-enabled profiles
F5 BIG-IP Advanced WAF and Application Security Manager (ASM) suffer from a denial-of-service vulnerability when process
Remote memory exhaustion in F5 BIG-IP virtual servers crashes Traffic Management Microkernel when HTTP/2 Layer 7 DoS Pro
Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) crashes in F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition and hardware platforms when SSL profiles are c
Remote denial-of-service in F5 BIG-IP allows unauthenticated attackers to crash the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM)
Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) in F5 BIG-IP terminates when processing specific traffic against UDP virtual server
Denial of service in F5 BIG-IP virtual servers with SSL profiles allows remote unauthenticated attackers to exhaust conn
Remote denial-of-service in F5 BIG-IP Policy Enforcement Manager (PEM) allows unauthenticated attackers to crash the Tra
Same weakness CWE-250 – Execution with Unnecessary Privileges
View allSame technique Privilege Escalation
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-29961
GHSA-frv4-jxq5-mpjm