CVE-2025-54805VulnerabilityPublished 15 Oct 2025Updated 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-54805: F5 BIG-IP Next SPK · Memory Leak

Affects F5 BIG-IP Next SPKSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 08:30 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 23% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 15 Oct 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
F5 BIG-IP Next SPK	Affected =1.7.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-54805, organizations should first verify if they are running F5 BIG-IP Next SPK version 1.7.0 with iRules configured via the declarative API. Until a vendor patch is released, administrators should minimize re-instantiation of iRules or avoid frequent changes that trigger the cleanup process causing the memory leak. Monitoring TMM memory usage closely with automated alerts can help detect abnormal increases early. Restrict administrative access to the declarative API and iRule configuration to trusted personnel only, employing strong authentication and role-based access controls. Consider implementing network segmentation to limit exposure of management interfaces. If possible, upgrade to a later version of BIG-IP Next SPK once a fix is available or apply any vendor-provided workarounds. Regularly review F5 security advisories for updates. Additionally, conducting periodic memory usage audits and stress tests can help identify potential resource exhaustion scenarios before impacting production environments.

Description

When an iRule is configured on a virtual server via the declarative API, upon re-instantiation, the cleanup process can cause an increase in the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) memory resource utilization. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-54805 is on the availability of F5 BIG-IP Next SPK systems. The memory leak in the TMM component can cause progressive memory exhaustion, leading to degraded performance or complete denial of service of the virtual server managing network traffic. This can disrupt critical network services, including load balancing, application delivery, and security functions that BIG-IP devices typically provide. Organizations relying on BIG-IP Next SPK for high availability and traffic management may experience outages or degraded service quality, impacting business continuity and user experience. Since the vulnerability does not affect confidentiality or integrity, data breaches or unauthorized data modification are not direct concerns. However, denial of service in network infrastructure can indirectly affect overall security posture by reducing defense capabilities. The requirement for privileges to configure iRules limits exploitation to insiders or attackers who have gained administrative access, reducing the likelihood of widespread exploitation but increasing risk in compromised environments.

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: Medium
The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse.
Implementation · Libraries or Frameworks
Choose a language or tool that provides automatic memory management, or makes manual memory management less error-prone.
Architecture and Design
Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
Architecture and Design · Build and Compilation
Consider using the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector (bdwgc), which can help avoid leaks.
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000151596 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 05:34 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-401

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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