CVE-2022-23012 in BIG-IP
Summary
by MITRE • 01/25/2022
On BIG-IP versions 15.1.x before 15.1.4.1 and 14.1.x before 14.1.4.5, when the HTTP/2 profile is configured on a virtual server, undisclosed requests can cause the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) to terminate. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/28/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-23012 affects F5 BIG-IP appliances running specific versions of the Traffic Management Microkernel where HTTP/2 profiles are configured on virtual servers. This issue represents a denial of service condition that can be triggered by sending specially crafted requests to the affected system. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it allows an attacker to cause the TMM process to terminate unexpectedly, potentially disrupting critical network services and application availability. The affected versions include BIG-IP 15.1.x before 15.1.4.1 and 14.1.x before 14.1.4.5, with systems that have reached end of technical support status not being evaluated for this vulnerability.
The technical flaw stems from improper handling of HTTP/2 requests within the TMM component when HTTP/2 profiles are enabled on virtual servers. When certain undisclosed requests are processed, the system fails to properly validate or handle the incoming HTTP/2 frames, leading to a critical error in the TMM process that results in its termination. This represents a classic buffer over-read or memory corruption issue within the HTTP/2 implementation, where the parser does not adequately validate the structure or content of incoming HTTP/2 requests before processing them. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-125 as an out-of-bounds read, though it manifests more specifically as a process termination rather than direct memory corruption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on F5 BIG-IP appliances for their network infrastructure. The termination of the TMM process results in immediate service disruption for all virtual servers configured with HTTP/2 profiles, potentially affecting thousands of concurrent connections and applications that depend on these services. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability with minimal resources to cause widespread availability issues, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where high availability is critical. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as the TMM process termination may cause connection state loss and require manual intervention to restore normal operations. Organizations may face extended downtime while system administrators diagnose and recover from the affected processes, especially during peak usage periods.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-23012 primarily involve applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates that address the HTTP/2 processing flaw in the TMM component. Organizations should prioritize upgrading their BIG-IP appliances to versions 15.1.4.1 or 14.1.4.5, which contain the necessary fixes for this vulnerability. Network administrators should also consider implementing temporary workarounds such as disabling HTTP/2 profiles on affected virtual servers until the patches can be deployed. Additionally, monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual TMM process termination events that could indicate exploitation attempts. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks, highlighting the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing proper network segmentation to limit the impact of such attacks. Organizations should also review their incident response procedures to ensure rapid detection and recovery from service interruption events caused by this vulnerability.