# CVE-2018-5547: Privilege escalation in BIG-IP APM client for Windows

> Unprivileged users can escalate to administrator privileges via the Windows Logon Integration certificate dialog in F5 BIG-IP APM client.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 17 Aug 2018
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m3rp-fqh4-whc7

## What is CVE-2018-5547?

CVE-2018-5547 is a high-severity vulnerability in F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP APM client for Windows, published on 17 Aug 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Windows Logon Integration feature of F5 BIG-IP APM client prior to version 7.1.7.1 for Windows by default uses Legacy logon mode which uses a SYSTEM account to establish network access. This feature displays a certificate user interface dialog box which contains the link to the certificate policy. By clicking on the link, unprivileged users can open additional dialog boxes and get access to the local machine windows explorer which can be used to get administrator privilege. Windows Logon Integration is vulnerable when the APM client is installed by an administrator on a user machine. Users accessing the local machine can get administrator privileges

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-5547?

It affects 1 product.


Products: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager Client.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-5547?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-5547 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-5547 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-5547 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-5547 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-5547 is a high-severity vulnerability in F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP APM client for Windows, published on 17 Aug 2018. 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-2018-5547 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: F5 Networks, Inc. BIG-IP APM client for Windows. 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-2018-5547/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5547/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-5547
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-5547
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-5547

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5547/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.