Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-28406

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

Published
03 May 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / 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 65th percentile
Risk Priority 39 floored blend · peak EPSS

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 Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 35% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

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)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
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-2023-42130Same product class: WAF / load balancer
CVE-2023-42129Same product class: WAF / load balancer
CVE-2024-23607Same vendor: F5
CVE-2026-20916Same vendor: F5
CVE-2025-14727Same vendor: F5
CVE-2024-7634Same 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.

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
prevents

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
prevents

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.

finds

Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.

References