VulnerabilityPublished 15 Oct 2025Updated 16 Oct 2025

CVE-2025-59483: F5 BIG-IP · External Control of File Name or Path

Affects F5 BIG-IPSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 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 30% 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:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
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: 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: 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 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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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 15.1.0 – 17.5.0 4 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Apply official patches from F5 as soon as they become available to address the vulnerability directly.
Until patches are released, restrict administrative access to BIG-IP Configuration utilities using network segmentation, VPNs, and strict access control lists (ACLs).
Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative accounts to reduce the risk of credential compromise.
Regularly audit and monitor administrative activities and file access logs on BIG-IP devices to detect anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts.
Implement role-based access control (RBAC) to limit the number of users with high privilege levels required to exploit this vulnerability.
Use network intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) tuned to detect suspicious file path manipulations or unauthorized configuration changes.
Conduct regular security training for administrators to recognize phishing and social engineering attempts that could lead to credential theft.
Maintain an up-to-date asset inventory to quickly identify and prioritize vulnerable BIG-IP devices for remediation.
Consider deploying compensating controls such as application-layer firewalls or endpoint protection on management workstations to reduce risk exposure.
Engage with F5 support and security advisories to stay informed about updates and recommended best practices.

Description

A validation vulnerability exists in an undisclosed URL in the Configuration utility. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-59483 is significant due to the widespread use of F5 BIG-IP devices in critical infrastructure sectors such as finance, telecommunications, healthcare, and government. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive configuration data, including credentials or network topology information, compromising confidentiality. Integrity could be impacted by unauthorized modification of configuration files, potentially allowing attackers to alter traffic routing, bypass security controls, or create persistent backdoors. Although availability is not directly affected, the indirect consequences of configuration tampering could disrupt services. Given the requirement for privileged authentication, the threat is primarily from insider threats or attackers who have already gained administrative access. However, once inside, the attacker’s ability to manipulate file paths increases the risk of lateral movement and deeper compromise. European organizations with stringent data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR) face additional compliance risks if sensitive data is exposed. The lack of known exploits provides a window for proactive mitigation, but the medium severity score underscores the need for timely response.

Summary

CVE-2025-59483 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-73 (External Control of File Name or Path) found in the Configuration utility of F5 BIG-IP devices. The vulnerability arises from insufficient validation of file names or paths supplied by an authenticated user with high privileges, allowing manipulation of file paths. This can lead to unauthorized reading or modification of configuration files or other sensitive data stored on the device. The affected versions include 15.1.0, 16.1.0, 17.1.0, and 17.5.0, which are currently supported versions of BIG-IP. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5, indicating a medium severity level. The attack vector is network-based (AV:N), requiring low attack complexity (AC:L), but it requires privileged authentication (PR:H) and no user interaction (UI:N). The scope is unchanged (S:U), and the impact is high on confidentiality and integrity (C:H/I:H) but none on availability (A:N). This vulnerability could allow an attacker with administrative access to manipulate file paths to access or alter sensitive files, potentially leading to data leakage or configuration tampering. No public exploits are known at this time, and the vendor has not yet published patches. The vulnerability does not affect versions that have reached End of Technical Support. Given the critical role of BIG-IP devices in managing network traffic, load balancing, and security policies, exploitation could have significant operational consequences.

CWE-73External Control of File Name or Path (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product allows user input to control or influence paths or file names that are used in filesystem operations.
Architecture and Design
When the set of filenames is limited or known, create a mapping from a set of fixed input values (such as numeric IDs) to the actual filenames, and reject all other inputs. For example, ID 1 could map to "inbox.txt" and ID 2 could map to "profile.txt".
Architecture and Design · Operation
Run your code in a "jail" or similar sandbox environment that enforces strict boundaries between the process and the operating system. This may effectively restrict all access to files within a particular directory.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.2 (opens in a new tab)
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Subverting Environment Variable Values (opens in a new tab)
Leverage Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
URL Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000156800 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 23 Oct 2025, 00:57 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-73

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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