CriticalCVE-2023-46748

    BIG-IP Configuration utility authenticated SQL injection vulnerability (CVE-2023-46748)

    Published In CISA KEV since Sources: pwn.watch, CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    An authenticated SQL injection vulnerability exists in the BIG-IP Configuration utility which may allow an authenticated attacker with network access to the Configuration utility through the BIG-IP management port and/or self IP addresses to execute arbitrary system commands.  Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • F5 BIG-IP gte 17.1.0..*
    • F5 BIG-IP gte 16.1.0..*
    • F5 BIG-IP gte 15.1.0..*
    • F5 BIG-IP gte 14.1.0..*
    • F5 BIG-IP gte 13.1.0..*

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    8.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    8.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: pwn.watch, CVE.org

    4.3 %

    EPSS score

    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 91.1

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    214.02 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

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    actively exploited
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

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    8.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

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    8.8
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

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    4.3 %
    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

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    91.1
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

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    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: active · not automatable · Technical impact: total
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 4 February 2025
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-89

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    This CVE is on KEV because attackers chain it with CVE-2023-46747. The auth bypass supplies the session this SQL injection needs, and the injection then delivers OS command execution and full device takeover. Targets are typically organisations whose BIG-IP management port or self IPs expose TMUI to the internet or to broad internal networks. A compromised BIG-IP holds TLS keys and session data, which makes it a prime foothold at the network edge. Given that it is network-reachable, needs only low privileges and carries a high exploitation likelihood, treat any externally reachable TMUI as an emergency. Where TMUI is strictly confined to an isolated admin network, a prioritised patch within days is defensible.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Inventory: Enumerate every BIG-IP system (including BIG-IP APM) on the 13.1.x, 14.1.x, 15.1.x, 16.1.x and 17.1.x branches. Confirm whether the Configuration utility (TMUI) is reachable via the management port or via self IPs. Treat any system exposing TMUI to the internet or to user networks as critical.
      • Patch: A patch or engineering hotfix is available from the vendor. Look up the exact version in the F5 security advisory for CVE-2023-46748. Remediate CVE-2023-46747 (unauthenticated Configuration utility auth bypass) in the same maintenance window, because the two are chained. F5 does not evaluate EoTS releases such as 13.1.x, so treat those as unpatchable and plan replacement.
      • Restrict access immediately: Lock down TMUI on self IPs by setting Port Lockdown to "Allow None", or to required services only, and never expose TCP 443. Restrict the management port to a dedicated admin network or jump host.
      • Check for compromise before patching: Review /var/log/tomcat/catalina.out for unusual java.sql.SQLException entries adjacent to shell output. Also review /var/log/audit and /var/log/secure for unknown logins and configuration changes. On any hit, isolate the system and preserve evidence (qkview/UCS plus log export) before rebuilding.
      • Credential rotation: Authenticated access is sufficient for exploitation, so reset all local BIG-IP accounts, root, and service accounts for remote auth (LDAP/RADIUS/TACACS+). If indicators are found, also rotate iControl REST tokens and secrets stored on the box (TLS private keys, APM secrets).

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Network segmentation: Move the management interface into an out-of-band management VLAN. Allow inbound only from the PAM jump host. Deny outbound traffic from the management interface except NTP, DNS, syslog and licensing/update endpoints, to frustrate reverse shells and exfiltration.
      • Self IP hardening: Audit with tmsh list net self allow-service. Set allow-service none on all self IPs facing external or user networks, and permit HA ports only on the HA VLAN.
      • IPS/NGFW rule: Inspect traffic to /tmui/ upstream of the BIG-IP. Alert on and block SQL metacharacters and keywords (', UNION, ;, --) in TMUI form POST parameters. Also block requests to TMUI with Transfer-Encoding anomalies indicative of the CVE-2023-46747 chain.
      • IAM/least privilege: Minimise the number of TMUI-capable accounts. Low-privilege roles such as Operator or Guest are enough to exploit this, so grant them only where needed. Enforce MFA for admin access via the jump host.
      • Configuration change: Where operationally feasible, disable TMUI entirely (e.g. tmsh modify sys httpd allow replace-all-with { 127.0.0.1 }) and administer via tmsh over SSH from the admin network.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Tomcat log (forward via syslog): Hunt catalina.out for java.sql.SQLException entries co-occurring with shell artefacts such as sh: error lines. SPL example: index=f5 source="*catalina.out" "java.sql.SQLException" | stats count by host
      • TMUI HTTP access: In the Apache access logs (/var/log/httpd/) or proxy logs, look for requests to /tmui/ from source IPs outside the admin range, and for unusually long or heavily URL-encoded POST bodies. Sigma shape: logsource: webserver; selection: cs-uri-stem|startswith: '/tmui/' ; filter: c-ip|cidr: <admin_range>
      • Process ancestry: If auditd or process accounting is forwarded, alert on java/Tomcat spawning sh, bash, curl, wget or nc. Also watch for file writes into web-served directories, which can indicate webshells.
      • Account and config changes: Search /var/log/audit for create auth user, modifications to /config/bigip_user.conf, and new SSH keys in authorized_keys, especially outside change windows.
      • Network telemetry (Zeek/Suricata): Flag outbound connections from BIG-IP management or self IPs to unknown external destinations. KQL example: CommonSecurityLog | where SourceIP in (bigip_mgmt_ips) and not(DestinationIP in (allowlist))

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    An authenticated SQL injection vulnerability exists in the BIG-IP Configuration utility which may allow an authenticated attacker with network access to the Configuration utility through the BIG-IP management port and/or self IP addresses to execute arbitrary system commands.  Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated

    Source: pwn.watch, NVD (NIST), CISA KEV Catalog, CVE.org (MITRE), cvelistv5

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    F5BIG-IP
    • ≥ 14.1.0
    • ≥ 17.1.0
    • ≥ 13.1.0
    • ≥ 15.1.0
    • ≥ 16.1.0
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    f5big-ip_access_policy_manager
    • 15.1.0 – ≤ 15.1.10
    • 13.1.0 – ≤ 13.1.5
    • 17.1.0 – ≤ 17.1.1
    • 14.1.0 – ≤ 14.1.5
    • 16.1.0 – ≤ 16.1.4
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    f5big-ip_advanced_firewall_manager
    • 14.1.0 – ≤ 14.1.5
    • 15.1.0 – ≤ 15.1.10
    • 17.1.0 – ≤ 17.1.1
    • 16.1.0 – ≤ 16.1.4
    • 13.1.0 – ≤ 13.1.5
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    f5big-ip_advanced_web_application_firewall
    • 17.1.0 – ≤ 17.1.1
    • 13.1.0 – ≤ 13.1.5
    • 14.1.0 – ≤ 14.1.5
    • 15.1.0 – ≤ 15.1.10
    • 16.1.0 – ≤ 16.1.4
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    f5big-ip_analytics
    • 15.1.0 – ≤ 15.1.10
    • 13.1.0 – ≤ 13.1.5
    • 17.1.0 – ≤ 17.1.1
    • 14.1.0 – ≤ 14.1.5
    • 16.1.0 – ≤ 16.1.4
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    f5big-ip_application_acceleration_manager
    • 14.1.0 – ≤ 14.1.5
    • 17.1.0 – ≤ 17.1.1
    • 15.1.0 – ≤ 15.1.10
    • 16.1.0 – ≤ 16.1.4
    • 13.1.0 – ≤ 13.1.5
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    f5big-ip_application_security_manager
    • 13.1.0 – ≤ 13.1.5
    • 15.1.0 – ≤ 15.1.10
    • 17.1.0 – ≤ 17.1.1
    • 14.1.0 – ≤ 14.1.5
    • 16.1.0 – ≤ 16.1.4
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    f5big-ip_application_visibility_and_reporting
    • 13.1.0 – ≤ 13.1.5
    • 14.1.0 – ≤ 14.1.5
    • 17.1.0 – ≤ 17.1.1
    • 16.1.0 – ≤ 16.1.4
    • 15.1.0 – ≤ 15.1.10
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    f5big-ip_automation_toolchain
    • 13.1.0 – ≤ 13.1.5
    • 15.1.0 – ≤ 15.1.10
    • 17.1.0 – ≤ 17.1.1
    • 16.1.0 – ≤ 16.1.4
    • 14.1.0 – ≤ 14.1.5
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    f5big-ip_carrier-grade_nat
    • 15.1.0 – ≤ 15.1.10
    • 16.1.0 – ≤ 16.1.4
    • 14.1.0 – ≤ 14.1.5
    • —
    • —
    • —

    Vendors and products

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-89Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')

      Base

      The product constructs all or part of an SQL command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended SQL command when it is sent to a downstream component. Without sufficient removal or quoting of SQL syntax in user-controllable inputs, the generated SQL query can cause those inputs to be interpreted as SQL instead of ordinary user data.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-89

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited

    References & sources

    • my.f5.comVendor advisory: F5 BIG-IP Configuration UtilityVendor advisory, Vendor advisory, pwn-watch
    • secpod.comblog/f5-issues-warning-big-ip-vulnerability-used-in-active-expl…Exploit, Third-party advisory
    • cisa.govknown-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-46748government-resource, US government resource
    • pwn.watchpwn.watch: F5 BIG-IP Configuration Utility: 2 exploited vulnerabilities (CVE-2023-46747, CVE-2023-46748)pwn-watch
    • my.f5.comVendor advisory: F5 BIG-IP Configuration Utilitypwn-watch
    • NVD (NIST)NVD: CVE-2023-46747pwn-watch
    • NVD (NIST)NVD: CVE-2023-46748pwn-watch
    • cisa.govCISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogpwn-watch
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