VulnerabilityPublished 15 Oct 2025Updated 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-61958: 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 26 Oct 2026, 09:15 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 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
F5f5/big-ip`pkg:rpm/f5/big-ip`Other threats	Affected =15.1.0 =16.1.0 =17.1.0 =17.5.0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

1. Immediate mitigation should include restricting resource administrator privileges strictly to trusted personnel and auditing existing accounts for unnecessary elevated access. 2. Implement network segmentation and access controls to limit administrative access to BIG-IP management interfaces. 3. Monitor system logs and command execution for unusual activity related to the iHealth command and tmsh usage. 4. Apply principle of least privilege to all administrative roles to reduce the attack surface. 5. Until official patches are released, consider disabling or restricting the iHealth command if feasible without impacting operations. 6. Employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative access to reduce risk of credential compromise. 7. Regularly update and patch BIG-IP devices as soon as vendor fixes become available. 8. Conduct penetration testing and vulnerability assessments focused on privilege escalation vectors within BIG-IP environments. 9. Maintain an incident response plan tailored to network infrastructure compromise scenarios involving BIG-IP devices.

Description

A vulnerability exists in the iHealth command that may allow an authenticated attacker with at least a resource administrator role to bypass tmsh restrictions and gain access to a bash shell. For BIG-IP systems running in Appliance mode, 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

This vulnerability can have severe consequences for organizations worldwide that deploy F5 BIG-IP devices, which are widely used for load balancing, application delivery, and security services in enterprise and service provider networks. Successful exploitation allows an attacker with resource administrator privileges to escalate their access to a full bash shell, effectively bypassing role-based access controls and tmsh restrictions. This can lead to unauthorized command execution, data exfiltration, manipulation of network traffic, and potential disruption of critical services. In Appliance mode, crossing security boundaries further increases the risk by allowing attackers to access otherwise isolated system components, potentially compromising the entire device. The breach of confidentiality and integrity could facilitate lateral movement within networks, enabling attackers to target sensitive applications and data. Given the central role of BIG-IP devices in network infrastructure, this vulnerability could impact the availability and security of multiple downstream systems, amplifying the overall risk to organizational operations and data protection.

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/K000154647 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 06:05 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-250

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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