CVE-2017-6152 in BIG-IQ Centralized Management
Summary
by MITRE
A local user on F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management 5.1.0-5.2.0 with the Access Manager role has privileges to change the passwords of other users on the system, including the local admin account password.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/17/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-6152 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within the F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management platform version 5.1.0 through 5.2.0. This issue affects systems where users possess the Access Manager role, creating a significant security risk that extends beyond the intended scope of their administrative privileges. The vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls and improper privilege validation mechanisms within the user management subsystem of the BIG-IQ platform.
The technical flaw manifests as a lack of proper authorization checks when attempting to modify user credentials within the system. Specifically, users assigned with the Access Manager role can exploit a design oversight to change passwords for any user account, including the critical administrative accounts that control system access and configuration. This vulnerability operates at the authentication and authorization layer of the platform, where the system fails to enforce proper access control policies when processing password change requests. The flaw essentially allows for arbitrary user account modification without adequate verification of the requesting user's authorization level for such operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted. An attacker with access to a user account possessing the Access Manager role could escalate privileges by changing the administrator password, effectively gaining complete control over the BIG-IQ system. This compromise enables full access to system configuration, user management, and potentially sensitive data stored within the centralized management platform. The vulnerability undermines the fundamental security principle of least privilege, as it allows users to elevate their access rights beyond their intended role limitations. Additionally, this flaw could facilitate lateral movement within the network infrastructure managed by BIG-IQ, as administrators often use these platforms to control multiple network devices and services.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control issues, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and privilege escalation. The flaw represents a classic case of insufficient authorization checks where the system fails to properly validate whether a user has the necessary permissions to perform sensitive operations. Organizations using F5 BIG-IQ systems in this vulnerable state face significant risk of unauthorized access, data breaches, and potential compromise of their entire network infrastructure managed through the platform. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the centralized management capabilities that many organizations rely upon for maintaining security posture across their network devices.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of the affected F5 BIG-IQ versions to address the privilege escalation vulnerability. Organizations should implement strict role-based access controls and regularly audit user permissions to ensure that administrative privileges are properly restricted. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect unauthorized password change attempts. Additionally, implementing multi-factor authentication and regular security assessments of administrative accounts can help reduce the impact of such vulnerabilities. The affected systems should be isolated from critical network segments until proper patches are applied and access controls are re-evaluated to prevent exploitation of this privilege escalation flaw.