Cyber Resilience

CVE-2021-23038

Critical

Published: 14 September 2021

Published
14 September 2021
Modified
21 November 2024
KEV Added
—
Patch
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CVSS Score v3.1 9.0 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0033 56.0th percentile
Risk Priority 18 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2021-23038 is a critical-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager. Its CVSS base score is 9.0 (Critical).

Operationally, ranked in the top 44.0% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

On version 16.0.x before 16.0.1.2, 15.1.x before 15.1.3.1, 14.1.x before 14.1.4.2, 13.1.x before 13.1.4.1, and all versions of 12.1.x, a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in an undisclosed page of the BIG-IP Configuration utility that allows an attacker to…

more

execute JavaScript in the context of the currently logged-in user. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

CWE(s)
CWE-79

Related Threats

No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.

Affected Assets

f5
big-ip access policy manager
12.1.0 — 12.1.6 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.4.1 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.4.2
f5
big-ip advanced firewall manager
12.1.0 — 12.1.6 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.4.1 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.4.2
f5
big-ip analytics
12.1.0 — 12.1.6 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.4.1 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.4.2
f5
big-ip application acceleration manager
12.1.0 — 12.1.6 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.4.1 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.4.2
f5
big-ip application security manager
12.1.0 — 12.1.6 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.4.1 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.4.2
f5
big-ip domain name system
12.1.0 — 12.1.6 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.4.1 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.4.2
f5
big-ip fraud protection service
12.1.0 — 12.1.6 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.4.1 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.4.2
f5
big-ip global traffic manager
12.1.0 — 12.1.6 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.4.1 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.4.2
f5
big-ip link controller
12.1.0 — 12.1.6 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.4.1 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.4.2
f5
big-ip local traffic manager
12.1.0 — 12.1.6 · 13.1.0 — 13.1.4.1 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.4.2
+1 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

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.

CA-8 Penetration Testing
addresses: CWE-79

Penetration testing submits XSS payloads to web applications, detecting cross-site scripting flaws for subsequent remediation.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-79

Validates web inputs to reject script-related content that could produce XSS.

SI-15 Information Output Filtering
addresses: CWE-79

Output validation against expected content can reject or sanitize script content in generated web pages, reducing XSS exploitability.

References