CVE-2025-60013 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command) affecting F5 F5OS Appliance versions 1.5.0 and 1.8.0. The flaw arises during the initialization of the rSeries FIPS hardware security module (HSM) when a password containing special shell metacharacters is used. These special characters are not properly sanitized or neutralized before being passed to an operating system command, which can cause the FIPS HSM to fail initialization. This failure can lead to denial of service conditions or potentially allow an attacker with high privileges to influence the initialization process, impacting confidentiality, integrity, and availability of cryptographic operations. The vulnerability requires local access with high privileges (PR:H), no user interaction (UI:N), and has a limited attack vector (AV:L), meaning exploitation is constrained to users with direct access to the appliance. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.7, indicating medium severity. No public exploits are known at this time, and software versions that have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are excluded from evaluation. The vulnerability highlights the importance of input validation and secure handling of shell metacharacters in security-critical modules such as FIPS HSMs.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-60013 includes potential denial of service of the FIPS hardware security module, which can disrupt cryptographic operations essential for secure communications, authentication, and data protection. This disruption can lead to degraded security posture, operational downtime, and potential compliance issues with regulations such as GDPR and NIS Directive that mandate strong cryptographic protections. Organizations in sectors like finance, telecommunications, government, and critical infrastructure that rely on F5 appliances for secure network services are particularly at risk. The failure of the FIPS HSM could also undermine trust in cryptographic keys and processes, potentially exposing sensitive data or interrupting secure transactions. Since exploitation requires high privileges and local access, insider threats or compromised administrative accounts pose the greatest risk. The medium severity score reflects a moderate but non-trivial risk that warrants timely mitigation to prevent operational and security impacts.

To mitigate CVE-2025-60013, European organizations should: 1) Avoid using passwords containing special shell metacharacters when initializing the rSeries FIPS HSM to prevent triggering the vulnerability. 2) Monitor and restrict administrative access to F5 appliances, ensuring only trusted personnel with a need-to-know have high privilege access. 3) Implement strict input validation and sanitization policies for all parameters used in appliance configuration and initialization processes. 4) Apply vendor patches or updates promptly once available, even though no patches are currently listed, maintain communication with F5 for advisories. 5) Conduct regular security audits and configuration reviews of F5 appliances to detect anomalous initialization attempts or failures. 6) Employ network segmentation and access controls to limit local access to the appliance consoles. 7) Prepare incident response plans to quickly address potential denial of service or cryptographic failures related to this vulnerability. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on password policy, privileged access management, and proactive monitoring specific to the affected F5OS appliances and their FIPS HSM initialization.