Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-40462

F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager 17.1.0 – 17.1.3

Published
13 May 2026
Modified
29 June 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 7.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/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 0.0025 16th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-40462 is a high-severity Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource (CWE-732) vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 16th 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-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Incorrect permission assignment vulnerabilities exist in iControl REST and TMOS shell (tmsh) undisclosed command which may allow an authenticated attacker to view sensitive information.  Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
Why these techniques?

Incorrect permissions in tmsh/iControl REST directly enable an authenticated attacker to access and view sensitive local data, including credentials stored in files.

Confidence: MEDIUM · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-42937Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-42058Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-41217Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-41959Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-42063Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2023-22326Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2024-27202Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-39459Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2025-53856Same product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager
CVE-2026-32673Same 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)
  • AC-6 Least Privilege
  • AC-3 Access Enforcement
  • AC-2 Account Management
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

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

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly counters incorrect permission assignment by requiring that authenticated users and processes receive only the minimum privileges needed to perform their functions, blocking unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information via tmsh or iControl REST.

prevent

Enforces access control policies on all system commands and REST resources so that even authenticated users cannot view sensitive data when permissions have been incorrectly assigned.

prevent

Requires disciplined account and privilege provisioning processes that would reduce the likelihood of over-privileged accounts being created for the affected shell and REST interfaces.

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 full match
prevents

Directly requires defining, enforcing, and reviewing access permissions and least privilege on resources.

PR.PS-01 mostly match
prevents

Hardened baselines and configuration management explicitly include correct permission settings for critical resources.

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.

prevents

By requiring owners to determine and document the exact permissions needed for each asset, the control reduces the likelihood that default or overly permissive file and resource permissions will be left in place.

prevents

Documented provisioning and revocation procedures reduce the chance that critical resources retain overly permissive default or leftover permissions after personnel changes.

prevents

Documented authorization, expiry rules, and audit logging of privileged accounts make it harder for critical resources to retain overly permissive or stale permission assignments.

prevents

Requiring explicit configuration of access controls and permissions for files, applications and services counters the assignment of overly permissive default or incorrect file-system rights.

prevents

Enforcing differentiated permissions on the source-code repository and program listings stops the assignment of overly broad default or inherited permissions to critical resources.

prevents

By defining and enforcing secure permission settings in configuration templates, the control reduces the likelihood that critical resources receive incorrect permission assignments.

References