CVE-2020-5888

Adjacent daemon access via unenforced port lockdown

Published Apr 30, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Access-control bypass in F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition allows attackers to reach local daemons despite configured port lockdown. The Traffic Management Microkernel fails to enforce configured port-lockdown restrictions for traffic arriving at a self IP, but F5 has not disclosed the underlying implementation error. Layer 2 adjacency is required; affected releases are 14.1.0 through 14.1.2.3, 15.0.0 through 15.0.1.2, and 15.1.0 through 15.1.0.1, and successful access bypasses restrictions intended to isolate local services.

CVSS severity8.1
High
EPSS probability0.60%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Access-control bypass in F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition allows attackers to reach local daemons despite configured port lockdown. The Traffic Management Microkernel fails to enforce configured port-lockdown restrictions for traffic arriving at a self IP, but F5 has not disclosed the underlying implementation error. Layer 2 adjacency is required; affected releases are 14.1.0 through 14.1.2.3, 15.0.0 through 15.0.1.2, and 15.1.0 through 15.1.0.1, and successful access bypasses restrictions intended to isolate local services.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-5888
Published
Apr 30, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
F5 Networks
Product
BIG-IP Virtual Edition
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
adjacent
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

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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, 15.0.0-15.0.1.2, 14.1.0-14.1.2.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

F5 Networks · BIG-IP Virtual Editionversion=15.1.0-15.1.0.1, 15.0.0-15.0.1.2, 14.1.0-14.1.2.3

Published CVSS scores

8.1NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
3.3NVDAV:A/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/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

No sourced classifications are available.

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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