# CVE-2016-6249: Information disclosure in F5 BIG-IP, REST Framework Logging

> Local users can read plaintext passwords from log files when REST authentication requests timeout, exposing sensitive credentials.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 Feb 2017
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-475j-chqr-x6c4

## What is CVE-2016-6249?

CVE-2016-6249 is a medium-severity vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager, published on 20 Feb 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

F5 BIG-IP 12.0.0 and 11.5.0 - 11.6.1 REST requests which timeout during user account authentication may log sensitive attributes such as passwords in plaintext to /var/log/restjavad.0.log. It may allow local users to obtain sensitive information by reading these files.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-6249?

It affects 11 products.


Products: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager, F5 Big-Ip Advanced Firewall Manager, F5 Big-Ip Analytics, F5 Big-Ip Application Acceleration Manager, F5 Big-Ip Application Security Manager, F5 Big-Ip Domain Name System, F5 Big-Ip Global Traffic Manager, F5 Big-Ip Link Controller, F5 Big-Ip Local Traffic Manager, F5 Big-Ip Policy Enforcement Manager, F5 Big-Ip Websafe.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-6249?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-6249 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-6249 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6249 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager

- [CVE-2023-46747](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46747/): F5 BIG-IP Configuration Utility Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-1388](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-1388/): F5 BIG-IP Missing Authentication (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-22986](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22986/): F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Centralized Management iControl REST Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-22991](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22991/): F5 BIG-IP Traffic Management Microkernel Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-5902](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5902/): F5 BIG-IP Traffic Management User Interface (TMUI) Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-6249 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-6249 is a medium-severity vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager, published on 20 Feb 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6249 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy 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-2016-6249/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6249/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6249
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6249
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-6249

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6249/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.