CVE-2015-7393 in BIG-IP
Summary
by MITRE
dcoep in BIG-IP LTM, Analytics, APM, ASM, and Link Controller 11.2.0 through 11.6.0 and 12.0.0 before 12.0.0 HF1, BIG-IP AAM 11.4.0 through 11.6.0 and 12.0.0 before 12.0.0 HF1, BIG-IP AFM and PEM 11.3.0 through 11.6.0 and 12.0.0 before 12.0.0 HF1, BIG-IP DNS 12.0.0 before 12.0.0 HF1, BIG-IP Edge Gateway, WebAccelerator, and WOM 11.2.0 through 11.3.0, BIG-IP GTM 11.2.0 through 11.6.0, BIG-IP PSM 11.2.0 through 11.4.1, Enterprise Manager 3.0.0 through 3.1.1, BIG-IQ Cloud 4.0.0 through 4.5.0, BIG-IQ Device 4.2.0 through 4.5.0, BIG-IQ Security 4.0.0 through 4.5.0, BIG-IQ ADC 4.5.0, BIG-IQ Centralized Management 4.6.0, and BIG-IQ Cloud and Orchestration 1.0.0 allows local users with advanced shell (bash) access to gain privileges via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/02/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-7393 represents a privilege escalation flaw within F5 BIG-IP security appliances across multiple product lines including Local Traffic Manager Analytics APM ASM and Link Controller versions 11.2.0 through 11.6.0 and 12.0.0 before 12.0.0 HF1. This issue affects various F5 security products including AAM AFM PEM DNS Edge Gateway WebAccelerator WOM GTM PSM Enterprise Manager BIG-IQ Cloud Device Security ADC Centralized Management and Cloud and Orchestration components. The flaw exists in the dcoep component which is responsible for managing certain administrative operations within the BIG-IP platform. According to the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog this vulnerability maps to CWE-269 Privilege Escalation where an attacker with advanced shell access can exploit unspecified vectors to elevate their privileges. The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate privilege validation mechanisms within the dcoep service that fails to properly enforce access controls when processing administrative commands.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-7393 is significant as it allows local users who already possess advanced shell access to escalate their privileges to higher administrative levels within the BIG-IP system. This represents a critical security weakness because it transforms a limited shell access scenario into a full administrative compromise. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to gain complete control over the affected BIG-IP appliances which serve as critical network infrastructure components including load balancers firewalls and application delivery controllers. The implications extend beyond simple privilege escalation as compromised BIG-IP appliances could provide attackers with deep visibility into network traffic and the ability to manipulate critical infrastructure services. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on BIG-IP solutions for their security infrastructure where a single compromised appliance could potentially disrupt critical network services and provide attackers with persistent access to sensitive network segments.
From an adversary perspective this vulnerability aligns with several tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework including privilege escalation techniques and defense evasion methods. The attack chain typically begins with an attacker obtaining advanced shell access through other means such as credential compromise or exploitation of other vulnerabilities, followed by leveraging CVE-2015-7393 to escalate privileges. The attack surface is particularly concerning because the vulnerability affects multiple BIG-IP product lines and versions, making it a widespread concern across various network security deployments. Organizations using affected versions of F5 BIG-IP solutions face substantial risk as this vulnerability could be exploited to gain unauthorized access to critical network infrastructure without requiring additional authentication mechanisms. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the vulnerability description suggest that the exploitation methods may vary across different product variants and could potentially involve multiple attack paths including command injection or improper access control validation.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-7393 primarily involve applying the vendor-supplied security patches and hotfixes released by F5 for the affected versions. Organizations should immediately upgrade their BIG-IP appliances to the patched versions including 12.0.0 HF1 for the 12.0.0 release and corresponding updates for all affected product lines. Network administrators should also implement additional security controls such as limiting shell access to only authorized personnel and monitoring for unusual privilege escalation activities. The principle of least privilege should be enforced by ensuring that administrative shell access is restricted to only essential personnel with proper authorization. Organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all affected BIG-IP appliances and prioritize remediation efforts based on the criticality of the affected systems. Additionally implementing network segmentation and access controls around BIG-IP appliances can help limit the potential impact of privilege escalation attacks even if the vulnerability is not immediately patched. Regular security monitoring and log analysis should be enhanced to detect suspicious privilege escalation attempts that may indicate exploitation of this vulnerability.