CVE-2023-46747Known exploitationPublic exploitNetwork attack vector

Unauthenticated command execution via AJP request smuggling

Published Oct 26, 2023 · Updated Oct 21, 2025

Authentication bypass in F5 BIG-IP 13.1.0 through 17.1.0 allows remote attackers to execute system commands through the TMUI. The Apache front end mishandles a repeated chunked Transfer-Encoding value and forwards the body as a second AJP request, letting Tomcat trust an attacker-supplied remote_user. Network access to the management port or a self IP with TMUI enabled is sufficient to create an administrator account and run commands as root.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability96.71%
Next 30 days · Nov 1, 2026
Known exploitationReported
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Authentication bypass in F5 BIG-IP 13.1.0 through 17.1.0 allows remote attackers to execute system commands through the TMUI. The Apache front end mishandles a repeated chunked Transfer-Encoding value and forwards the body as a second AJP request, letting Tomcat trust an attacker-supplied remote_user. Network access to the management port or a self IP with TMUI enabled is sufficient to create an administrator account and run commands as root.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-46747
Published
Oct 26, 2023
Updated
Oct 21, 2025
Vendor
F5 Networks
Product
BIG-IP
Classifications
CWE-306, CWE-288, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 26, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 27, 2023Exploitation reportedUNC5174 BIG-IP exploitation
  3. Oct 31, 2023Exploitation reportedCISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog entry
  4. Oct 21, 2025Record 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 <* changes=[{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-13.1.5.1.0.20.2-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"}]
  2. Affected versionversion=14.1.0 <* changes=[{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-14.1.5.6.0.10.6-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"}]
  3. Affected versionversion=15.1.0 <* changes=[{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-15.1.10.2.0.44.2-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"}]
  4. Affected versionversion=16.1.0 <* changes=[{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-16.1.4.1.0.50.5-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"}]
  5. Affected versionversion=17.1.0 <* changes=[{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-17.1.0.3.0.75.4-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"},{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-17.1.1.0.2.6-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"}]

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

F5 Networks · BIG-IPversion=13.1.0 <* changes=[{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-13.1.5.1.0.20.2-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"}]; version=14.1.0 <* changes=[{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-14.1.5.6.0.10.6-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"}]; version=15.1.0 <* changes=[{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-15.1.10.2.0.44.2-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"}]; version=16.1.0 <* changes=[{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-16.1.4.1.0.50.5-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"}]; version=17.1.0 <* changes=[{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-17.1.0.3.0.75.4-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"},{"at":"Hotfix-BIGIP-17.1.1.0.2.6-ENG.iso","status":"unaffected"}]

Published CVSS scores

9.8ProjectDiscoveryCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

Daily unique IPsShadowserver observations through Sep 28, 2026. Gaps indicate unavailable data.
Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
View daily counts
Reporting dayUnique IPs
Sep 22, 20261
Sep 23, 20262
Sep 24, 20261
Sep 25, 20261
Sep 26, 20261
Sep 27, 20262
Sep 28, 20261
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPs1
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationReported
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-306Missing Authentication for Critical Function
CWE-288Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

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

Reported exploitation

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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