# CVE-2023-43746: BIG-IP Appliance mode external monitor vulnerability

> Authenticated administrators can bypass Appliance mode restrictions via external monitors, crossing security boundaries on F5 BIG-IP systems.

- **Severity:** High 8.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Oct 2023
- **Updated:** 18 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r7qm-xv29-cxj4

## What is CVE-2023-43746?

CVE-2023-43746 is a high-severity vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager, published on 10 Oct 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

When running in Appliance mode, an authenticated user assigned the Administrator role may be able to bypass Appliance mode restrictions, utilizing BIG-IP external monitor on a BIG-IP system.  A successful exploit can allow the attacker to cross a security boundary.  Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

Weakness: CWE-267 (Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-43746?

It affects 18 products.


Products: F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager, F5 Big-Ip Advanced Firewall Manager, F5 Big-Ip Advanced Web Application Firewall, F5 Big-Ip Analytics, F5 Big-Ip Application Acceleration Manager, F5 Big-Ip Application Security Manager, F5 Big-Ip Application Visibility and Reporting, F5 Big-Ip Carrier-Grade Nat, F5 Big-Ip Ddos Hybrid Defender, F5 Big-Ip Domain Name System, F5 Big-Ip Fraud Protection Service, 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 Ssl Orchestrator, F5 Big-Ip Webaccelerator, F5 Big-Ip Websafe.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-43746?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-43746 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-43746 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-43746 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-2023-43746 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-43746 is a high-severity vulnerability in F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager, published on 10 Oct 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-43746 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-2023-43746/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43746/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-43746
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-43746
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-43746

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43746/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.