CVE-2023-40542: BIG-IP TCP Profile vulnerability

Severity: high (CVSS 7.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.7% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2023-10-10 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-770

Description

When TCP Verified Accept is enabled on a TCP profile that is configured on a Virtual Server, undisclosed requests can cause an increase in memory resource utilization. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated

Affected products

F5 BIG-IP APM: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
BIG-IP: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Advanced Web Application Firewall: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Analytics: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (AAM): from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
BIG-IP ASM: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Application Visibility And Reporting: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Carrier-Grade Nat: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Ddos Hybrid Defender: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 BIG-IP DNS: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Edge Gateway: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Fraud Protection Service: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Global Traffic Manager: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Link Controller: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 BIG-IP (LTM): from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (PEM): from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Ssl Orchestrator: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Webaccelerator: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4
F5 Big-Ip Websafe: from 13.1.0 through 13.1.5; from 14.1.0 through 14.1.5; from 15.1.0 before 15.1.9; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.4 — fixed in 15.1.9, 16.1.4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: F5 BIG-IP APM 15.1.9, 16.1.4; BIG-IP 15.1.9, 16.1.4; F5 Big-Ip Advanced Web Application Firewall 15.1.9, 16.1.4; F5 Big-Ip Analytics 15.1.9, 16.1.4; F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (AAM) 15.1.9, 16.1.4; BIG-IP ASM 15.1.9, 16.1.4; F5 Big-Ip Application Visibility And Reporting 15.1.9, 16.1.4; F5 Big-Ip Carrier-Grade Nat 15.1.9, 16.1.4; F5 Big-Ip Ddos Hybrid Defender 15.1.9, 16.1.4; F5 BIG-IP DNS 15.1.9, 16.1.4; F5 Big-Ip Edge Gateway 15.1.9, 16.1.4; F5 Big-Ip Fraud Protection Service 15.1.9, 16.1.4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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