# CVE-2012-1493: Hardcoded credentials in n/a

> Remote attackers can gain unauthorized SSH access to F5 BIG-IP appliances due to a shared private key, leading to potential system compromise.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Jul 2012
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9xc6-7wh2-7r7r

## What is CVE-2012-1493?

CVE-2012-1493 is a high-severity vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Application Security Manager, published on 9 Jul 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

F5 BIG-IP appliances 9.x before 9.4.8-HF5, 10.x before 10.2.4, 11.0.x before 11.0.0-HF2, and 11.1.x before 11.1.0-HF3, and Enterprise Manager before 2.1.0-HF2, 2.2.x before 2.2.0-HF1, and 2.3.x before 2.3.0-HF3, use a single SSH private key across different customers' installations and do not properly restrict access to this key, which makes it easier for remote attackers to perform SSH logins via the PubkeyAuthentication option.

Weakness: CWE-255

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-1493?

It affects 25 products.


Products: F5 Big-Ip 1000, F5 Big-Ip 11000, F5 Big-Ip 11050, F5 Big-Ip 1500, F5 Big-Ip 1600, F5 Big-Ip 2400, F5 Big-Ip 3400, F5 Big-Ip 3410, F5 Big-Ip 3600, F5 Big-Ip 3900, F5 Big-Ip 4100, F5 Big-Ip 5100, F5 Big-Ip 5110, F5 Big-Ip 6400, F5 Big-Ip 6800, F5 Big-Ip 6900, F5 Big-Ip 8400, F5 Big-Ip 8800, F5 Big-Ip 8900, F5 Big-Ip 8950 and 5 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-1493?

No fix has been published for CVE-2012-1493 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2012-1493 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-1493 exists.

Public exploit code:

- F5 BIG-IP - Authentication Bypass (PoC) (exploitdb)
- F5 BIG-IP SSH Private Key Exposure (metasploit)
- F5 BIG-IP - Authentication Bypass (exploitdb)
- F5 BIG-IP - SSH Private Key Exposure (Metasploit) (exploitdb)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-1493 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-1493 is a high-severity vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Application Security Manager, published on 9 Jul 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-1493 exists.

Affected product: F5 Big-Ip Application Security Manager. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1493/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1493/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-1493
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1493
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-1493

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1493/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.