CVE-2020-5878Network attack vector

Unauthenticated traffic interruption via TMM restart

Published Apr 30, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Denial of service in F5 Networks BIG-IP Virtual Edition allows remote attackers to restart TMM via unusual IP traffic. F5 identifies the locus as the Traffic Management Microkernel but has not published which IP traffic property or packet-processing operation triggers the restart. No authentication or user interaction is required; a successful trigger interrupts traffic processing while TMM restarts.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.04%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in F5 Networks BIG-IP Virtual Edition allows remote attackers to restart TMM via unusual IP traffic. F5 identifies the locus as the Traffic Management Microkernel but has not published which IP traffic property or packet-processing operation triggers the restart. No authentication or user interaction is required; a successful trigger interrupts traffic processing while TMM restarts.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-5878
Published
Apr 30, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
F5 Networks
Product
BIG-IP Virtual Edition
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 30, 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=15.1.0-15.1.0.1, 15.0.0-15.0.1.1, 14.1.0-14.1.2.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

F5 Networks · BIG-IP Virtual Editionversion=15.1.0-15.1.0.1, 15.0.0-15.0.1.1, 14.1.0-14.1.2.3

Published CVSS scores

5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

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

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Your stack

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