CVE-2021-22974

Severity: high (CVSS 7.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.8% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2021-02-12 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-362

Description

On BIG-IP version 16.0.x before 16.0.1.1, 15.1.x before 15.1.2, 14.1.x before 14.1.3.1, and 13.1.x before 13.1.3.6 and all versions of BIG-IQ 7.x and 6.x, an authenticated attacker with access to iControl REST over the control plane may be able to take advantage of a race condition to execute commands with an elevated privilege level. This vulnerability is due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2017-6167. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Software Development (EoSD) are not evaluated.

Affected products

F5 BIG-IP APM: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
BIG-IP: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.5; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.5, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Advanced Web Application Firewall: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Analytics: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (AAM): from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
BIG-IP ASM: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Ddos Hybrid Defender: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 BIG-IP DNS: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Fraud Protection Service: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.5; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.5, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Global Traffic Manager: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Link Controller: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 BIG-IP (LTM): from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (PEM): from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Ssl Orchestrator: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.3.6; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.3.1; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.2; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1
F5 BIG-IQ: from 6.0.0 through 6.1.0; from 7.0.0 through 7.1.0

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: F5 BIG-IP APM 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1; BIG-IP 13.1.3.5, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Advanced Web Application Firewall 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Analytics 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1; F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (AAM) 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1; BIG-IP ASM 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Ddos Hybrid Defender 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1; F5 BIG-IP DNS 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Fraud Protection Service 13.1.3.5, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Global Traffic Manager 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Link Controller 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1; F5 BIG-IP (LTM) 13.1.3.6, 14.1.3.1, 15.1.2, 16.0.1.1. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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