Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-43746

F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager 13.1.0 – 14.1.5

Published
10 October 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0043 36th percentile
Risk Priority 56 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-43746 is a high-severity Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions (CWE-267) vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager. Its CVSS base score is 8.7 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Access Token Manipulation (T1134); ranked at the 36th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

When running in Appliance mode, an authenticated user assigned the Administrator role may be able to bypass Appliance mode restrictions, utilizing BIG-IP external monitor on a BIG-IP system. A successful exploit can allow the attacker to cross a security boundary.…

more

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

CWE(s)
CWE-267

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1134 Access Token Manipulation Stealth
Adversaries may modify access tokens to operate under a different user or system security context to perform actions and bypass access controls.
attack.mitre.org →
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
attack.mitre.org →
T1548.001 Setuid and Setgid Privilege Escalation
An adversary may abuse configurations where an application has the setuid or setgid bits set in order to get code running in a different (and possibly more privileged) user’s context.
attack.mitre.org →
T1548.003 Sudo and Sudo Caching Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may perform sudo caching and/or use the sudoers file to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1078 Valid Accounts Stealth
Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of existing accounts as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion.
attack.mitre.org →
T1123 Audio Capture Collection
An adversary can leverage a computer's peripheral devices (e.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-42406Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-40537Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-41373Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-35062Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-41225Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-40542Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-38138Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-28406Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-41085Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-43485Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager

Affected Assets

f5
big-ip access policy manager
13.1.0 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.9 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.4
f5
big-ip advanced firewall manager
13.1.0 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.9 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.4
f5
big-ip application security manager
13.1.0 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.9 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.4
f5
big-ip domain name system
13.1.0 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.9 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.4
f5
big-ip local traffic manager
13.1.0 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.9 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.4
f5
big-ip advanced web application firewall
13.1.0 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.9 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.4
f5
big-ip analytics
13.1.0 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.9 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.4
f5
big-ip application acceleration manager
13.1.0 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.9 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.4
f5
big-ip application visibility and reporting
13.1.0 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.9 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.4
f5
big-ip carrier-grade nat
13.1.0 — 14.1.5 · 15.1.0 — 15.1.9 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.4
+8 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)
  • 10 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V13.2.2
  • V3.7.3
  • V9.2.2
  • V9.2.3

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.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Defining and enforcing least-privilege permissions directly reduces the chance that a privilege permits unintended unsafe actions.

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.8.18 Use of privileged utility programs mostly match
mitigates

Use of privileged utility programs restricts dangerous tools but does not address unsafe actions within assigned privileges.

A.5.15 Access control partial match
mitigates

Access control policy can limit unsafe privilege use but does not define safe actions for each privilege.

A.5.18 Access rights partial match
degrades

Access rights assignment can restrict privileges to intended actions, yet does not guarantee the privilege itself is safe.

A.5.3 Segregation of duties partial match
mitigates

Segregation of duties reduces risk of unsafe actions by splitting privileges but does not address unsafe privilege definitions.

A.8.2 Privileged access rights partial match
mitigates

Privileged access rights control can restrict unsafe privileges, yet does not ensure the privilege definition itself is safe.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
mitigates

Secure development lifecycle can catch unsafe privilege definitions during design but does not prevent them at runtime.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271725 OL 9 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-267
Ubuntu 22.04 (3 rules)
  • V-260470 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, when booted, must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-267
  • V-260529 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must be configured so that remote X connections are disabled, unless to fulfill documented and validated mission requirements. prevents CWE-267
  • V-260542 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must prevent direct login into the root account. prevents CWE-267

References