Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessIdentify BIG-IP UDP service
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DeliverySend crafted SSL/TLS packets
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ExploitTrigger infinite loop in TMM dynamic record sizing
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ExecutionTMM process terminates
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ImpactComplete service denial
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Loop termination conditions
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires F5 BIG-IP deployment with UDP protocol virtual servers configured with attached Client SSL profiles having the Allow Dynamic Record Sizing feature explicitly enabled. This represents a narrow deployment subset - most BIG-IP implementations use TCP virtual servers, and even UDP deployments rarely enable dynamic record sizing on SSL profiles. The feature is a performance optimization not enabled by default. Network reachability to the UDP virtual server is required (AV:N), but standard firewall rules protecting management interfaces do not prevent exploitation against legitimate service ports. No authentication required (PR:N) for accessing the vulnerable UDP service endpoint. The specific traffic pattern required to trigger the loop is undisclosed by F5, limiting immediate exploitation risk but not preventing determined attackers from reverse-engineering the trigger condition. |
| Impact | CVSS 7.5 (High) accurately reflects significant availability impact with network-based exploitation requiring no authentication or user interaction. The AV:N/AC:L/PR:N vector indicates straightforward remote exploitation, but real-world risk is substantially limited by narrow deployment preconditions: requires UDP virtual servers (less common than TCP), Client SSL profile attachment to UDP (specialized use case), AND specific Allow Dynamic Record Sizing feature enablement (non-default optimization). Organizations not using DTLS or SSL-over-UDP configurations face zero risk despite high CVSS score. No EPSS data provided, but network-reachable DoS with no authentication typically sees moderate-to-high exploitation probability once details emerge. No KEV listing indicates no confirmed active exploitation at time of publication. F5's disclosure with immediate patch availability and no mention of prior exploitation suggests responsible disclosure rather than observed attacks. Primary concern is service disruption for internet-facing BIG-IP deployments with vulnerable configurations - TMM crashes affect all traffic through the device until restart. Defense priority should focus on configuration audit rather than emergency patching for most environments. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker identifies an internet-facing F5 BIG-IP device with UDP services exposed (commonly DTLS VPN endpoints or secure UDP application proxies). By crafting specific UDP packet sequences targeting the SSL handshake or data transfer phases against the vulnerable virtual server, the attacker triggers the infinite loop condition in TMM's dynamic record sizing logic. TMM process terminates, causing complete service outage for all traffic processed by that TMM instance until administrators restart the service or device. Attacker can repeatedly send trigger packets to maintain persistent denial of service. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – May 13, 2026
Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) in F5 BIG-IP terminates when processing specific traffic against UDP virtual servers configured with Client SSL profiles having Allow Dynamic Record Sizing enabled. Remote unauthenticated attackers can trigger complete service denial by sending crafted traffic, causing TMM process crashes. F5 has released patches per advisory K000160901.
RemediationAI
Apply vendor-released patches detailed in F5 Security Advisory K000160901 (https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000160901), which specifies exact fixed versions for supported BIG-IP releases. Organizations unable to immediately patch should implement configuration-based mitigation: disable Allow Dynamic Record Sizing on Client SSL profiles attached to UDP virtual servers via tmsh command 'modify ltm profile client-ssl [profile_name] ssl-sign-hash none' or through the BIG-IP Configuration utility. This workaround eliminates the vulnerable code path while maintaining SSL/TLS functionality with static record sizing, trading minor performance optimization for security. For environments requiring dynamic record sizing, alternative mitigation involves removing Client SSL profiles from UDP virtual servers and terminating SSL at application layer instead, though this architectural change has significant performance and complexity implications. Audit all UDP virtual server configurations using 'tmsh list ltm virtual' filtered for UDP protocol and cross-reference Client SSL profile assignments to identify exposure.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
This vulnerability affects F5 BIG-IP's Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM), the core data plane component responsible for processing network traffic. The issue manifests when SSL/TLS dynamic record sizing optimization - a performance feature that adjusts TLS record sizes based on connection characteristics - is enabled on Client SSL profiles applied to UDP virtual servers. The CWE-835 classification indicates an infinite loop vulnerability, suggesting the undisclosed traffic pattern causes TMM to enter an unrecoverable loop state leading to process termination. UDP virtual servers with SSL profiles represent an uncommon but valid configuration for protocols like DTLS (Datagram TLS), used in VPNs and secure UDP applications. The combination of UDP transport with dynamic SSL record sizing creates a code path where malformed or unexpected packet sequences trigger the loop condition.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Primary rating from Vendor (f5) · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorVendor: f5
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
When a Client SSL profile is configured with Allow Dynamic Record Sizing on a UDP virtual server, undisclosed traffic can cause the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) to terminate. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.
Executive ViewAI
F5 BIG-IP Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) contains a denial-of-service vulnerability affecting UDP virtual servers with Client SSL and Dynamic Record Sizing enabled, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to crash the TMM process and completely disable traffic management services. Organizations relying on BIG-IP for load balancing and SSL termination face potential service outages impacting all dependent applications and users until patched.
Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not possible: disable Client SSL 'Allow Dynamic Record Sizing' on affected UDP virtual servers or temporarily suspend UDP virtual server services until patches are deployed.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
Remote code execution affects F5 BIG-IP systems that terminate traffic on a virtual server configured with both an APM (
Remote code execution in F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Configuration utility allows authenticated attackers with low privileges t
Memory-exhaustion denial of service in F5 BIG-IP affects any virtual server configured with an HTTP/2 profile, where a r
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)
Denial of service in F5 BIG-IP virtual servers with SSL profiles allows remote unauthenticated attackers to exhaust conn
EUVD-2026-30004
GHSA-xgx2-84j2-cx9m
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB