Description
When the BIG-IP Configuration utility is configured to use Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) authentication, undisclosed traffic can cause the httpd process to exhaust the available file descriptors.  Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.
Published: 2026-05-13
Score: 8.7 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Impact

Undisclosed traffic sent to the BIG‑IP Configuration utility while LDAP authentication is enabled can exhaust the file descriptor pool used by the httpd service. The resulting resource exhaustion prevents the web server from accepting new connections, causing a service outage for management traffic. This vulnerability is an instance of improper resource release (CWE‑772).

Affected Systems

The flaw affects F5 BIG‑IP systems that use LDAP authentication for the Configuration utility. No specific version range is listed in the advisory; consequently, all supported releases that employ LDAP authentication may be vulnerable. The vendor states that end‑of‑technical‑support releases are not evaluated.

Risk and Exploitability

The high CVSS score (8.7) reflects significant impact and substantial privileges required: the attacker must be able to send traffic to the httpd process, likely from outside the device. Because no EPSS data is available and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, the probability of active exploitation is unknown but could be increased in environments where the management interface is exposed. Exploitation proceeds by generating sufficient requests that trigger file‑descriptor allocation until the pool is exhausted, leading to a denial of service for all management sessions. The attack vector is inferred to be remote traffic aimed at the management endpoints of BIG‑IP.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on May 13, 2026 at 16:42 UTC.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Apply the latest F5 patch that addresses file‑descriptor exhaustion for the BIG‑IP Configuration utility; see F5 KB article K000160874
  • If a patch is not immediately available, restrict or block external access to the BIG‑IP Management interface or disable LDAP authentication on the Configuration utility as a temporary mitigation
  • Configure system limits or monitoring to detect premature exhaustion of httpd file descriptors and alert administrators before a full outage occurs
  • Ensure that BIG‑IP is placed behind a firewall that only allows traffic from trusted management networks

Generated by OpenCVE AI on May 13, 2026 at 16:42 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Wed, 13 May 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared F5
F5 big-ip
Vendors & Products F5
F5 big-ip

Wed, 13 May 2026 16:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Wed, 13 May 2026 15:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description When the BIG-IP Configuration utility is configured to use Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) authentication, undisclosed traffic can cause the httpd process to exhaust the available file descriptors.  Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.
Title BIG-IP Configuration utility vulnerability
Weaknesses CWE-772
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 8.7, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: f5

Published:

Updated: 2026-05-13T16:09:59.231Z

Reserved: 2026-04-30T23:04:20.012Z

Link: CVE-2026-39455

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-05-13T16:09:54.237Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-05-13T16:16:41.090

Modified: 2026-05-13T16:27:11.127

Link: CVE-2026-39455

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-05-13T16:45:44Z

Weaknesses