CVE-2025-59481VulnerabilityPublished 15 Oct 2025Updated 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-59481: F5 BIG-IP · Execution with Unnecessary Privileges

Affects F5 BIG-IPSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.7 High.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.7High

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 33% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

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 2026-10-25.

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	Affected =17.5.0 =17.1.0 =16.1.0 =15.1.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-59481, organizations should: 1) Immediately review and restrict resource administrator privileges to the minimum necessary personnel to reduce the attack surface. 2) Monitor and audit iControl REST API and tmsh command usage for unusual or unauthorized activity. 3) Apply patches or updates from F5 as soon as they become available, prioritizing affected versions 15.1.0, 16.1.0, 17.1.0, and 17.5.0. 4) Implement network segmentation and access controls to limit administrative access to BIG-IP devices only from trusted management networks. 5) Employ multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts to reduce the risk of credential compromise. 6) Regularly review and update security policies related to BIG-IP management interfaces. 7) Consider deploying intrusion detection/prevention systems to detect anomalous command execution patterns on BIG-IP devices. 8) Stay informed through F5 security advisories and threat intelligence feeds for updates on exploitation techniques and patches.

Description

A vulnerability exists in an undisclosed iControl REST and BIG-IP TMOS Shell (tmsh) command that may allow an authenticated attacker with at least resource administrator role to execute arbitrary system commands with higher privileges. 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.

Impact

The impact of CVE-2025-59481 is substantial for organizations using vulnerable F5 BIG-IP versions. An attacker with resource administrator privileges can escalate their access to execute arbitrary system commands with higher privileges, potentially gaining full control over the device. This can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, disruption of network traffic management, and compromise of the BIG-IP device's integrity. Since BIG-IP devices often serve as critical components in enterprise networks for load balancing, application delivery, and security functions, exploitation could disrupt business operations, enable further lateral movement within the network, and facilitate data exfiltration or persistent access. The lack of requirement for user interaction and the remote network attack vector increase the risk of exploitation in exposed environments. Organizations relying on BIG-IP for critical infrastructure or internet-facing services are particularly at risk.

CWE-250Execution with Unnecessary Privileges (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: Medium
The product performs an operation at a privilege level that is higher than the minimum level required, which creates new weaknesses or amplifies the consequences of other weaknesses.
Architecture and Design · Operation · Environment Hardening
Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Identify the functionality that requires additional privileges, such as access to privileged operating system resources. Wrap and centralize this functionality if possible, and isolate the privileged code as much as possible from other code.
Architecture and Design · Attack Surface Reduction
Identify the functionality that requires additional privileges, such as access to privileged operating system resources. Wrap and centralize this functionality if possible, and isolate the privileged code as much as possible from other code.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Docker Security (opens in a new tab)
Vulnerable Dependency Management (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.14.5 (opens in a new tab)
V1.2.1 (opens in a new tab)
V14.2.6 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Cross Zone Scripting (opens in a new tab)
Expanding Control over the Operating System from the Database (opens in a new tab)
Target Programs with Elevated Privileges (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000156642 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 05:43 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-250

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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