CVE-2016-5745 in BIG-IP
Summary
by MITRE
F5 BIG-IP LTM systems 11.x before 11.2.1 HF16, 11.3.x, 11.4.x before 11.4.1 HF11, 11.5.0, 11.5.1 before HF11, 11.5.2, 11.5.3, 11.5.4 before HF2, 11.6.0 before HF8, 11.6.1 before HF1, 12.0.0 before HF4, and 12.1.0 before HF2 allow remote attackers to modify or extract system configuration files via vectors involving NAT64.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/21/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-5745 affects F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager systems across multiple versions, representing a critical security flaw that enables remote attackers to manipulate or extract sensitive system configuration files. This issue specifically manifests through NAT64-related attack vectors, exploiting weaknesses in the system's handling of network address translation protocols. The affected versions span from 11.x series through 12.1.0, with particular attention required for releases before their respective hotfixes, indicating a widespread impact across the F5 BIG-IP product line. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation and access control mechanisms within the NAT64 implementation, allowing unauthorized remote exploitation.
The technical flaw resides in how the BIG-IP LTM system processes NAT64 traffic, specifically when handling configuration file operations during network address translation processes. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform unauthorized modifications to system configuration files or extract sensitive information from the device. The vulnerability operates by exploiting improper input validation and inadequate access controls within the NAT64 processing pipeline, enabling attackers to manipulate file system operations remotely. This represents a classic privilege escalation and information disclosure vulnerability that can be exploited without authentication, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where these systems serve as critical traffic management components.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-5745 extends beyond simple data exposure, as attackers can potentially disrupt service availability and compromise the integrity of network infrastructure. Configuration file modifications can lead to complete system compromise, allowing attackers to alter routing rules, disable security features, or redirect traffic to malicious endpoints. The ability to extract system configuration files exposes sensitive information including network topology details, security policies, and potentially authentication credentials stored within the device configuration. This vulnerability directly impacts the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected systems, making it a significant concern for organizations relying on F5 BIG-IP solutions for traffic management and load balancing operations. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can target these systems from outside the network perimeter, potentially affecting large enterprise networks and cloud deployments.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the relevant F5 hotfixes and security patches for their specific affected versions, as detailed in F5's security advisory. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit exposure of BIG-IP systems to untrusted networks, while monitoring systems should be configured to detect anomalous NAT64 traffic patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery) categories, demonstrating multiple attack vectors and exploitation pathways. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation, credential access, and defense evasion, as attackers can modify system files to maintain persistent access or hide their activities. System administrators should also conduct comprehensive security assessments of their BIG-IP deployments, review configuration files for unauthorized changes, and implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. The remediation process requires careful planning due to the critical nature of these systems, ensuring that patch deployment does not disrupt ongoing network operations while addressing the identified security weakness through proper system hardening measures.