CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2024-45844NVD status: Analyzed

BIG-IP: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2024-45844 is a high-severity missing authentication for critical functionality vulnerability in BIG-IP from F5, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.2 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with administrator privileges, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 17.1.1.4, 16.1.5, 15.1.10.5 as the first without the flaw, so updating BIG-IP to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 10.6% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is in the top 4.13% of all scored CVEs.

Patch this week

EPSS places it among the vulnerabilities most likely to be exploited soon.

What to do

  1. Update BIG-IP to 17.1.1.4 or 16.1.5 or 15.1.10.5, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Big-ip Access Policy Manager to 15.1.10.5 or 16.1.5 or 17.1.1.4, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  3. Update Big-ip Advanced Firewall Manager to 15.1.10.5 or 16.1.5 or 17.1.1.4, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  4. Read the advisory on my.f5.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
F5BIG-IP17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.4; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.517.1.1.4, 16.1.5, 15.1.10.5
F5Big-ip Access Policy Manager15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Advanced Firewall Manager15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Advanced Web Application Firewall15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Analytics15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Application Acceleration Manager15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Application Security Manager15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Application Visibility And Reporting15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Automation Toolchain15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Carrier-grade Nat15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Container Ingress Services15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Ddos Hybrid Defender15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Domain Name System15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Edge Gateway15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Fraud Protection Service15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Global Traffic Manager15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Link Controller15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Local Traffic Manager15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Policy Enforcement Manager15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip SSL Orchestrator15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Webaccelerator15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4
F5Big-ip Websafe15.1.0 up to, but not including, 15.1.10.5; 16.1.0 up to, but not including, 16.1.5; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.1.415.1.10.5, 16.1.5, 17.1.1.4

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
HighAdministrator-level access is required first.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (f5.com).

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 4.08.6HighCNA (f5.com)
CVSS 3.17.2HighCNA (f5.com)

Official description

BIG-IP monitor functionality may allow an attacker to bypass access control restrictions, regardless of the port lockdown settings. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality

The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using libraries with authentication capabilities such as OpenSSL or the ESAPI Authenticator.
  • When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to require strong authentication for users who should be allowed to access the data.

More Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities (CWE-306)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Technical write-ups (may include proof of concept)

Other vulnerabilities in BIG-IP

All BIG-IP vulnerabilities

Recent Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities

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