Security Resilience

CVE-2023-28406

Path Traversal in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager 13.1.0 – 13.1.5

Path Traversal
Published
03 May 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.012 67th percentile
Risk Priority 39 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-2023-28406 is a medium-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager. Its CVSS base score is 4.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 33% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A directory traversal vulnerability exists in an undisclosed page of the BIG-IP Configuration utility which may allow an authenticated attacker to read files with .xml extension. Access to restricted information is limited and the attacker does not control what information…

more

is obtained. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

CWE(s)
CWE-22

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
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 →
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.001 Internet Connection Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may check for Internet connectivity on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1018 Remote System Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Lateral Movement from the current system.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-41373Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-54755Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2020-5902Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-42780Same product: F5 Big-Ip Ssl Orchestrator
CVE-2025-14727Same vendor: F5
CVE-2023-42130Same product class: WAF / load balancer
CVE-2023-42129Same product class: WAF / load balancer
CVE-2024-7634Same vendor: F5
CVE-2024-23607Same vendor: F5
CVE-2026-20916Same vendor: F5

Affected Assets

f5
big-ip access policy manager
13.1.0 — 13.1.5 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.5.4 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.8.2
f5
big-ip advanced firewall manager
13.1.0 — 13.1.5 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.5.4 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.8.2
f5
big-ip advanced web application firewall
13.1.0 — 13.1.5 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.5.4 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.8.2
f5
big-ip analytics
13.1.0 — 13.1.5 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.5.4 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.8.2
f5
big-ip application acceleration manager
13.1.0 — 13.1.5 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.5.4 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.8.2
f5
big-ip application security manager
13.1.0 — 13.1.5 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.5.4 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.8.2
f5
big-ip application visibility and reporting
13.1.0 — 13.1.5 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.5.4 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.8.2
f5
big-ip carrier-grade nat
13.1.0 — 13.1.5 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.5.4 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.8.2
f5
big-ip ddos hybrid defender
13.1.0 — 13.1.5 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.5.4 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.8.2
f5
big-ip domain name system
13.1.0 — 13.1.5 · 14.1.0 — 14.1.5.4 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.8.2
+9 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)
  • V5.3.2

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.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

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-02 partial match
blocks

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
blocks

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

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