CVE-2020-5870

HA state disclosure and modification via unauthenticated peers

Published Apr 24, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Missing authentication in F5 Networks BIG-IQ Centralized Management 5.2.0 through 7.0.0 allows attackers to impersonate an HA peer. The HA synchronization mechanism accepts peer connections without authenticating the connecting system, then replicates configuration and system state across that trust boundary. Exploitation requires network access to the HA communication path and an HA pair; the resulting peer position permits unauthorized reading or alteration of synchronized state.

CVSS severity8.1
High
EPSS probability0.52%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Missing authentication in F5 Networks BIG-IQ Centralized Management 5.2.0 through 7.0.0 allows attackers to impersonate an HA peer. The HA synchronization mechanism accepts peer connections without authenticating the connecting system, then replicates configuration and system state across that trust boundary. Exploitation requires network access to the HA communication path and an HA pair; the resulting peer position permits unauthorized reading or alteration of synchronized state.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-5870
Published
Apr 24, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
F5 Networks
Product
BIG-IQ Centralized Management
Classifications
CWE-306, T1210
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 24, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.2.0-7.0.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

F5 Networks · BIG-IQ Centralized Managementversion=5.2.0-7.0.0

Published CVSS scores

4.8NIST NVDAV:A/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N
8.1NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-306Missing Authentication for Critical Function
T1210Exploitation of Remote Services

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo