Threats / F5 / CVE-2023-46747
CVE-2023-46747
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
F5 BIG-IP Configuration Utility vulnerability
F5 BIG-IP Configuration Utility contains an authentication bypass vulnerability allowing unauthenticated attackers with network access to execute system commands via undisclosed requests.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
An unauthenticated attacker on the management network can bypass authentication controls and execute arbitrary system commands on BIG-IP systems. Active exploitation and ransomware deployment have been observed in the wild.
CISA KEV Yes · 2023-10-315Ransomware use Flagged5EPSS 0.96515 (verify live)6Exploit Weaponized · public PoC7CVSS 9.83CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: total4
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
701 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-10-31), flagged for known ransomware use.
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.96515 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 9.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: F5, BIG-IP Configuration Utility. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CNA-assigned (CVE.org), version 3.1, set at disclosure.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-288 Auth Bypass via Alternate Path — weakness family: Authentication.CWE — CNA-assigned (CVE.org); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 5 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
Public exploit available
Public exploit tooling is catalogued for this CVE (a functional/weaponized public exploit). Catalog entries: Metasploit module, nuclei template. We link the catalog page(s) only — no payload or code is hosted or restated here.Link, never host — the catalog page is the source; basicsecurity.net does not redistribute payloads.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I gain network access to the BIG-IP management port or self IP addresses without credentials.
Business
Perimeter controls fail to prevent unauthorized access to critical infrastructure management interfaces.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I send specially crafted requests that bypass authentication checks through an alternate channel.
Business
Authentication mechanisms are circumvented, exposing the system to complete compromise.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I execute arbitrary system commands with the privileges of the BIG-IP process.
Business
Attackers gain full control of load balancing infrastructure and can pivot to protected backend systems.
4
Data at risk — exfiltration narrative 4
Attacker
I deploy ransomware or establish persistent backdoors on the compromised BIG-IP system.
Business
Critical network infrastructure is encrypted or disabled, causing service disruption and operational downtime.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05