# CVE-2020-5870: Missing authorization in BIG-IQ

> Attackers can bypass authentication in BIG-IQ high availability synchronization, potentially accessing sensitive data or disrupting operations.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Apr 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-56mf-pgq9-8ccj

## What is CVE-2020-5870?

CVE-2020-5870 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in F5 Big-Iq Centralized Management, published on 24 Apr 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In BIG-IQ 5.2.0-7.0.0, high availability (HA) synchronization mechanisms do not use any form of authentication for connecting to the peer.

Weakness: CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-5870?

It affects 1 product.


Products: F5 Big-Iq Centralized Management.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-5870?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-5870 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-5870 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5870 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in F5 Big-Iq Centralized Management

- [CVE-2020-5868](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5868/): Command injection in BIG-IQ (critical 9.8)
- [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-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-2020-5870 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-5870 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in F5 Big-Iq Centralized Management, published on 24 Apr 2020. 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-2020-5870 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-2020-5870/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5870/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-5870
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-5870
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-5870

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5870/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.