# CVE-2020-5868: Command injection in BIG-IQ

> Remote attackers can execute shell commands on F5 BIG-IQ systems via HTTP requests to the user interface.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Apr 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5w49-v6w7-jmpv

## What is CVE-2020-5868?

CVE-2020-5868 is a critical command injection vulnerability in F5 Big-Iq Centralized Management, published on 24 Apr 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In BIG-IQ 6.0.0-7.0.0, a remote access vulnerability has been discovered that may allow a remote user to execute shell commands on affected systems using HTTP requests to the BIG-IQ user interface.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-5868?

It affects 1 product.


Products: F5 Big-Iq Centralized Management.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-5868?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-5868 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-5868 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5868 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in F5 Big-Iq Centralized Management

- [CVE-2021-23005](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-23005/): Weak cryptography in BIG-IQ (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2020-5869](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5869/): Information disclosure in BIG-IQ (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2020-5870](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5870/): Missing authorization in BIG-IQ (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2021-22995](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22995/): Missing authorization in BIG-IQ (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2021-22996](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22996/): Denial of service in BIG-IQ (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-5868 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-5868 is a critical command injection vulnerability in F5 Big-Iq Centralized Management, published on 24 Apr 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5868 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: F5 Big-Iq Centralized Management. 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-2020-5868/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5868/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-5868
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-5868
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-5868

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5868/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.