Security Resilience

CVE-2023-22374

F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager 14.1.4.6 – 14.1.5

High EPSS
Published
01 February 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.73 99.4th percentile
Risk Priority 85 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-22374 is a high-severity Use of Externally-Controlled Format String (CWE-134) vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager. Its CVSS base score is 8.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique LSASS Memory (T1003.001); ranked in the top 0.6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

A format string vulnerability exists in the iControl SOAP component of F5 BIG-IP, tracked as CVE-2023-22374. The flaw, categorized under CWE-134, permits an authenticated attacker to crash the iControl SOAP CGI process or potentially execute arbitrary code. In appliance mode, successful exploitation can enable crossing a security boundary. The issue carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.5 and affects versions that have not reached end of technical support.

An authenticated attacker with network access can supply crafted input to trigger the vulnerability. Depending on the environment, this may result in denial of service through process crashes or, in some cases, arbitrary code execution that crosses security boundaries on BIG-IP appliances.

F5 has published mitigation guidance in knowledge base article K000130415, which practitioners should consult for patch availability and configuration recommendations specific to their BIG-IP deployments. The EPSS score reached a peak of 0.0583 before receding to its current value of 0.0232.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A format string vulnerability exists in iControl SOAP that allows an authenticated attacker to crash the iControl SOAP CGI process or, potentially execute arbitrary code. In appliance mode BIG-IP, a successful exploit of this vulnerability can allow the attacker to…

more

cross a security boundary. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

CWE(s)
CWE-134

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
attack.mitre.org →
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
attack.mitre.org →
T1016 System Network Configuration Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may look for details about the network configuration and settings, such as IP and/or MAC addresses, of systems they access or through information discovery of remote systems.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-22422Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-22842Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2021-22992Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-36557Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-41431Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-22418Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-22340Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-22326Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-22323Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-22302Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager

Affected Assets

f5
big-ip access policy manager
13.1.5, 17.0.0 · 14.1.4.6 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.5.1 — 15.1.8 · 16.1.2.2 — 16.1.3
f5
big-ip advanced firewall manager
13.1.5, 17.0.0 · 14.1.4.6 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.5.1 — 15.1.8 · 16.1.2.2 — 16.1.3
f5
big-ip analytics
13.1.5, 17.0.0 · 14.1.4.6 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.5.1 — 15.1.8 · 16.1.2.2 — 16.1.3
f5
big-ip application acceleration manager
13.1.5, 17.0.0 · 15.1.5.1 — 15.1.8 · 16.1.2.2 — 16.1.3
f5
big-ip application security manager
13.1.0, 17.0.0 · 14.1.4.6 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.5.1 — 15.1.8 · 16.1.2.2 — 16.1.3
f5
big-ip ddos hybrid defender
13.1.5 · 14.1.4.6 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.5.1 — 15.1.8 · 16.1.2.2 — 16.1.3
f5
big-ip domain name system
17.0.0 · 14.1.4.6 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.5.1 — 15.1.8 · 16.1.2.2 — 16.1.3
f5
big-ip fraud protection service
13.1.5, 17.0.0 · 15.1.5.1 — 15.1.8 · 16.1.2.2 — 16.1.3
f5
big-ip link controller
13.1.5, 17.0.0 · 14.1.4.6 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.5.1 — 15.1.8 · 16.1.2.2 — 16.1.3
f5
big-ip local traffic manager
13.1.5, 17.0.0 · 14.1.4.6 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.5.1 — 15.1.8 · 16.1.2.2 — 16.1.3
+2 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

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.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability identification can discover existing format-string flaws but does not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent external format strings via code review, static analysis, and safe APIs.

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.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References