Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-39458

Memory Safety in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager 17.1.0 – 17.1.3

Memory Safety
Published
13 May 2026
Modified
29 June 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v4 8.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0026 18th percentile
Risk Priority 43 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-39458 is a high-severity Access of Uninitialized Pointer (CWE-824) 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 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 18th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

When a BIG-IP DNS profile enabled with DNS cache is configured on a virtual server, undisclosed traffic can cause the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) to terminate.  Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

CWE(s)
CWE-824

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
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.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-33608Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-58096Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-61951Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2024-28889Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-53474Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-41218Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-42919Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2024-32761Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-48008Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-41956Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager

Affected Assets

f5
big-ip access policy manager
21.0.0 · 17.1.0 — 17.1.3 · 17.5.0 — 17.5.1 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.6
f5
big-ip advanced firewall manager
21.0.0 · 17.1.0 — 17.1.3 · 17.5.0 — 17.5.1 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.6
f5
big-ip advanced web application firewall
21.0.0 · 17.1.0 — 17.1.3 · 17.5.0 — 17.5.1 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.6
f5
big-ip analytics
21.0.0 · 17.1.0 — 17.1.3 · 17.5.0 — 17.5.1 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.6
f5
big-ip application acceleration manager
21.0.0 · 17.1.0 — 17.1.3 · 17.5.0 — 17.5.1 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.6
f5
big-ip application security manager
21.0.0 · 17.1.0 — 17.1.3 · 17.5.0 — 17.5.1 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.6
f5
big-ip application visibility and reporting
21.0.0 · 17.1.0 — 17.1.3 · 17.5.0 — 17.5.1 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.6
f5
big-ip automation toolchain
21.0.0 · 17.1.0 — 17.1.3 · 17.5.0 — 17.5.1 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.6
f5
big-ip carrier-grade nat
21.0.0 · 17.1.0 — 17.1.3 · 17.5.0 — 17.5.1 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.6
f5
big-ip container ingress services
21.0.0 · 17.1.0 — 17.1.3 · 17.5.0 — 17.5.1 · 16.1.0 — 16.1.6
+11 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation can discover uninitialized pointer accesses through static analysis, dynamic testing, or fuzzing before deployment.

SA-15 Development Process, Standards, and Tools partial match

Requiring documented development processes and tools enables use of analyzers or coding standards that identify uninitialized pointer defects.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Security engineering principles can mandate memory-safety practices and language choices that structurally avoid uninitialized pointer use.

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-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent uninitialized pointer bugs via coding standards, analysis, and reviews, but eliminating this single weakness only partially fulfills the broader control.

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.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect uninitialized pointer usage before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates practices that reduce uninitialized pointer defects.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
degrades

Application security requirements can specify pointer initialization rules.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
degrades

Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe pointer handling.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prohibit use of uninitialized pointers.

References