CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2017-6144 — F5 Big-Ip Policy Enforcement Manager security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.4

In F5 BIG-IP PEM 12.1.0 through 12.1.2 when downloading the Type Allocation Code (TAC) database file via HTTPS, the server's certificate is not verified. Attackers in a privileged network position may be able to launch a man-in-the-middle attack against these connections. TAC databases are used in BIG-IP PEM for Device Type and OS (DTOS) and Tethering detection. Customers not using BIG-IP PEM, not configuring downloads of TAC database files, or not using HTTP for that download are not affected.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.4 (3.0)
Published
2017-10-20
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-295

Affected products

  • f5 / big-ip_policy_enforcement_manager / 12.1.0
  • f5 / big-ip_policy_enforcement_manager / 12.1.1
  • f5 / big-ip_policy_enforcement_manager / 12.1.2

Matched remediation archetype

Cryptography, certificate, signature, and channel validation

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Inventory affected algorithms, key uses, trust stores, certificate validation settings, random sources, and plaintext channels across clients and services.
  • Determine which secrets, identities, signatures, or data protections depend on the affected primitive or validation path.
  • Check debug, compatibility, fallback, and hostname or audience override settings in build and runtime configuration.

Remediate safely

  • Use a maintained platform cryptographic API with approved algorithms, modes, parameters, randomness, and full peer identity validation.
  • Remove insecure fallback and validation bypasses; separate keys by purpose and load them from managed secret storage.
  • Plan rotation or reissuance for affected keys, certificates, tokens, hashes, or ciphertext and document compatibility sequencing.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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