Cyber Resilience

CVE-2021-22992

Memory Safety in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager 11.6.1 – 11.6.5.3

High EPSSMemory Safety
Published
31 March 2021
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.73 99.4th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2021-22992 is a critical-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

On BIG-IP versions 16.0.x before 16.0.1.1, 15.1.x before 15.1.2.1, 14.1.x before 14.1.4, 13.1.x before 13.1.3.6, 12.1.x before 12.1.5.3, and 11.6.x before 11.6.5.3, a malicious HTTP response to an Advanced WAF/BIG-IP ASM virtual server with Login Page configured in its policy…

more

may trigger a buffer overflow, resulting in a DoS attack. In certain situations, it may allow remote code execution (RCE), leading to complete system compromise. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Software Development (EoSD) are not evaluated.

CWE(s)
CWE-120

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service Impactconfidence: HIGH
Buffer overflow triggered by malicious HTTP response causes denial of service.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Executionconfidence: MEDIUM
RCE capability from the overflow enables client-side exploitation for code execution.
attack.mitre.org →
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-22422Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-36557Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-53474Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2020-5902Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2021-22991Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2021-22986Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2022-41800Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2022-1388Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-23239Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-41431Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager

Affected Assets

f5
big-ip access policy manager
11.6.1 — 11.6.5.3 · 12.1.0 — 12.1.5.3 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.3.6
f5
big-ip advanced firewall manager
11.6.1 — 11.6.5.3 · 12.1.0 — 12.1.5.3 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.3.6
f5
big-ip advanced web application firewall
11.6.1 — 11.6.5.3 · 12.1.0 — 12.1.5.3 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.3.6
f5
big-ip analytics
11.6.1 — 11.6.5.3 · 12.1.0 — 12.1.5.3 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.3.6
f5
big-ip application acceleration manager
11.6.1 — 11.6.5.3 · 12.1.0 — 12.1.5.3 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.3.6
f5
big-ip application security manager
11.6.1 — 11.6.5.3 · 12.1.0 — 12.1.5.3 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.3.6
f5
big-ip ddos hybrid defender
11.6.1 — 11.6.5.3 · 12.1.0 — 12.1.5.3 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.3.6
f5
big-ip domain name system
11.6.1 — 11.6.5.3 · 12.1.0 — 12.1.5.3 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.3.6
f5
big-ip fraud protection service
11.6.1 — 11.6.5.3 · 12.1.0 — 12.1.5.3 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.3.6
f5
big-ip global traffic manager
11.6.1 — 11.6.5.3 · 12.1.0 — 12.1.5.3 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.3.6
+4 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.1

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-120

Platform-independent managed code eliminates the need for unchecked native buffer copies that are the root cause of classic buffer overflows.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.28 Secure coding mostly match
prevents

Secure coding directly requires bounds-checked memory operations, addressing the root cause of CWE-120.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
detects

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect buffer overflows through fuzzing and static analysis, though it does not prevent them at the source.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates processes that can include input validation and bounds checking to prevent buffer overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify input-size validation and safe buffer handling to mitigate classic buffer overflows.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure system architecture and engineering principles promote defensive coding patterns that reduce the likelihood of unchecked buffer copies.

References