CVE-2025-53868: BIG-IP SCP and SFTP vulnerability

Severity: high (CVSS 8.7 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-10-15 · updated 2026-10-08
Weakness: CWE-78

Description

When running in Appliance mode, a highly privileged authenticated attacker with access to SCP and SFTP may be able to bypass Appliance mode restrictions using undisclosed commands. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

Affected products

F5 BIG-IP APM: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
BIG-IP: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Advanced Web Application Firewall: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Analytics: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (AAM): from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
BIG-IP ASM: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Application Visibility And Reporting: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Automation Toolchain: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Carrier-Grade Nat: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 BIG-IP Container Ingress Services: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Ddos Hybrid Defender: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 BIG-IP DNS: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Edge Gateway: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Fraud Protection Service: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Global Traffic Manager: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Link Controller: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 BIG-IP (LTM): from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (PEM): from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Ssl Orchestrator: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Webaccelerator: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3
F5 Big-Ip Websafe: from 15.1.0 before 15.1.10.8; from 16.1.0 before 16.1.6.1; from 17.1.0 before 17.1.3; from 17.5.0 through 17.5.1 — fixed in 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: F5 BIG-IP APM 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3; BIG-IP 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3; F5 Big-Ip Advanced Web Application Firewall 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3; F5 Big-Ip Analytics 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3; F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP (AAM) 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3; BIG-IP ASM 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3; F5 Big-Ip Application Visibility And Reporting 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3; F5 Big-Ip Automation Toolchain 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3; F5 Big-Ip Carrier-Grade Nat 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3; F5 BIG-IP Container Ingress Services 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3; F5 Big-Ip Ddos Hybrid Defender 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3; F5 BIG-IP DNS 15.1.10.8, 16.1.6.1, 17.1.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000151902

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