Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-39459

F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager 17.1.0 – 17.1.3

Published
13 May 2026
Modified
29 June 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v4 8.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/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 17th percentile
Risk Priority 29 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-39459 is a high-severity Least Privilege Violation (CWE-272) vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 17th 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 AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability exists in iControl REST and the TMOS Shell (tmsh) where a highly privileged, authenticated attacker with at least the Manager role can create configuration objects that allow running arbitrary commands. Note: Software versions which have reached End of…

more

Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

CWE(s)
CWE-272

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 →
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.005 Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by an installer.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-58153Same 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-2026-32673Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-59481Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-61958Same 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

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

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 4 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

—

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-6 Least Privilege good match

AC-6 directly requires employing least privilege so that elevated rights are granted only when needed and revoked immediately afterward.

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

Directly enforces least-privilege policy and ongoing review that prevents failure to drop elevated rights after privileged operations.

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 partial match
mitigates

Restricts and monitors privileged utility programs, directly addressing the need to drop elevated rights immediately after use.

A.8.2 Privileged access rights partial match
mitigates

Privileged access rights explicitly require least-privilege assignment and timely revocation after elevated operations.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding practices can prevent least-privilege violations but do not constitute the control itself.

A.8.3 Information access restriction partial match
mitigates

Information access restriction supports least privilege but does not specifically mandate dropping rights after privileged operations.

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).

Ubuntu 24.04 (1 rule)
  • V-270689 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must prevent all software from executing at higher privilege levels than users executing the software and the audit system must be configured to audit the execution of privileged functions. prevents CWE-272
Windows 10 (1 rule)
  • V-220712 Only accounts responsible for the administration of a system must have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-272
Windows Server 2022 (1 rule)
  • V-254428 Windows Server 2022 must only allow administrators responsible for the member server or standalone or nondomain-joined system to have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-272

References