CVE-2023-43746Network attack vector

Security-boundary bypass via external monitor

Published Oct 10, 2023 · Updated Sep 18, 2024

Privilege bypass in F5 BIG-IP allows remote authenticated users with the Administrator role to cross an Appliance mode security boundary. The external-monitor path accepts an Administrator-controlled action without enforcing the restriction that blocks root-level Bash access; F5 has not disclosed lower-level implementation details. Exploitation requires Appliance mode and an Administrator account, and the published impact is bounded to confidentiality and integrity across that boundary without service interruption.

CVSS severity8.7
High
EPSS probability0.43%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege bypass in F5 BIG-IP allows remote authenticated users with the Administrator role to cross an Appliance mode security boundary. The external-monitor path accepts an Administrator-controlled action without enforcing the restriction that blocks root-level Bash access; F5 has not disclosed lower-level implementation details. Exploitation requires Appliance mode and an Administrator account, and the published impact is bounded to confidentiality and integrity across that boundary without service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-43746
Published
Oct 10, 2023
Updated
Sep 18, 2024
Vendor
F5 Networks
Product
BIG-IP
Classifications
CWE-267, T1068
Attack vector
network
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 10, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 18, 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=13.1.0 <*
  2. Affected versionversion=14.1.0 <*
  3. Affected versionversion=15.1.0 <15.1.9
  4. Affected versionversion=16.1.0 <16.1.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

F5 Networks · BIG-IPversion=13.1.0 <*; version=14.1.0 <*; version=15.1.0 <15.1.9; version=16.1.0 <16.1.4

Published CVSS scores

8.7F5CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-267Privilege Defined With Unsafe Action
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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