CVE-2021-23015

Severity: high (CVSS 7.2 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 1.3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2021-05-10 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-863

Description

On BIG-IP 15.1.x before 15.1.3, 14.1.x before 14.1.4.2, 13.1.0.8 through 13.1.3.6, and all versions of 16.0.x, when running in Appliance Mode, an authenticated user assigned the 'Administrator' role may be able to bypass Appliance Mode restrictions utilizing undisclosed iControl REST endpoints. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

Affected products

F5 BIG-IP APM: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
BIG-IP: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Advanced Web Application Firewall: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Analytics: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (AAM): from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
BIG-IP ASM: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Ddos Hybrid Defender: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
F5 BIG-IP DNS: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Fraud Protection Service: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Global Traffic Manager: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Link Controller: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
F5 BIG-IP (LTM): from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (PEM): from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1
F5 Big-Ip Ssl Orchestrator: from 13.1.0 before 13.1.4; from 14.1.0 before 14.1.4; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.3; from 16.0.0 before 16.0.1.1 — fixed in 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: F5 BIG-IP APM 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1; BIG-IP 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Advanced Web Application Firewall 13.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Analytics 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1; F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (AAM) 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1; BIG-IP ASM 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Ddos Hybrid Defender 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1; F5 BIG-IP DNS 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Fraud Protection Service 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Global Traffic Manager 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1; F5 Big-Ip Link Controller 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1; F5 BIG-IP (LTM) 13.1.4, 14.1.4, 15.1.3, 16.0.1.1. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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