CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-41225NVD status: Analyzed

BIG-IP: Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-41225 is a critical-severity incorrect use of privileged apis vulnerability in BIG-IP from F5, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 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 21.0.0.2, 17.5.1.6, 17.1.3.2 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 0.27% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update BIG-IP to 21.0.0.2 or 17.5.1.6 or 17.1.3.2, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Read the advisory on my.f5.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
F5BIG-IP21.0.0 up to, but not including, 21.0.0.2; 17.5.0 up to, but not including, 17.5.1.6; 17.1.0 up to, but not including, 17.1.3.2; 16.1.0 and later21.0.0.2, 17.5.1.6, 17.1.3.2
F5Big-ip Access Policy Manager17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Advanced Firewall Manager17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Advanced Web Application Firewall17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Analytics17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Application Acceleration Manager17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Application Security Manager17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Application Visibility And Reporting17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Automation Toolchain17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Carrier-grade Nat17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Container Ingress Services17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Ddos Hybrid Defender17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Domain Name System17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Edge Gateway17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Fraud Protection Service17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Global Traffic Manager17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Link Controller17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Local Traffic Manager17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Policy Enforcement Manager17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip SSL Orchestrator17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Webaccelerator17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated
F5Big-ip Websafe17.1.0 through 17.1.3; 17.5.0 through 17.5.1; 16.1.0 through 16.1.6; 21.0.0Not stated

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
ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
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:C/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (f5.com).

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 4.08.6HighCNA (f5.com)
CVSS 3.19.1CriticalCNA (f5.com)

Official description

A vulnerability exists in iControl REST where a highly privileged, authenticated attacker with at least the Manager role can create configuration objects that allow running arbitrary commands. 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: Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs

The product does not conform to the API requirements for a function call that requires extra privileges. This could allow attackers to gain privileges by causing the function to be called incorrectly.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Before calling privileged APIs, always ensure that the assumptions made by the privileged code hold true prior to making the call.
  • Know architecture and implementation weaknesses of the privileged APIs and make sure to account for these weaknesses before calling the privileged APIs to ensure that they can be called safely.
  • If privileged APIs make certain assumptions about data, context or state validity that are passed by the caller, the calling code must ensure that these assumptions have been validated prior to making the call.

More Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs vulnerabilities (CWE-648)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in BIG-IP

All BIG-IP vulnerabilities

Recent Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs vulnerabilities

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