A Vulnerability in F5 BIG-IP Next Central Manager Could Allow for Remote Code Execution

A vulnerability has been discovered in F5 BIG-IP Next Central Manager that could allow for remote code execution. BIG-IP Next Central Manager is the management and application orchestration platform used to control BIG-IP Next instances. It can be installed on dedicated hardware or virtualized through VMware ESXi. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow for Remote Code Execution in the context of the affected service account. Depending on the privileges associated with the service account, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Services accounts that are configured to have less rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

There are currently no reports of this vulnerability being exploited in the wild.

A vulnerability has been discovered in F5 BIG-IP Next Central Manager that could allow for remote code execution. Due to the lack of input validation, an unauthenticated adversary can inject malicious SQL statements using the Central Manager’s API. Details of this vulnerability is as follows:

Tactic: Initial Access (TA0001):
Technique: Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190):

• An SQL injection vulnerability exists in the BIG-IP Next Central Manager API (URI). (CVE-2024-26026)
  Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow for remote code execution in the context of the service account. Depending on the privileges associated with the service account, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Services accounts that are configured to have less rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

We recommend the following actions be taken:

• Apply appropriate updates provided by F5 to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing. (M1051: Update Software)

• Safeguard 7.1: Establish and Maintain a Vulnerability Management Process: Establish and maintain a documented vulnerability management process for enterprise assets. Review and update documentation annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.

• Safeguard 7.4: Perform Automated Application Patch Management: Perform application updates on enterprise assets through automated patch management on a monthly, or more frequent, basis.

• Safeguard 7.7: Remediate Detected Vulnerabilities: Remediate detected vulnerabilities in software through processes and tooling on a monthly, or more frequent, basis, based on the remediation process.

• Safeguard 9.1: Ensure Use of Only Fully Supported Browsers and Email Clients: Ensure only fully supported browsers and email clients are allowed to execute in the enterprise, only using the latest version of browsers and email clients provided through the vendor.

• Apply the Principle of Least Privilege to all systems and services. Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack. (M1026: Privileged Account Management)

• Safeguard 4.7: Manage Default Accounts on Enterprise Assets and Software: Manage default accounts on enterprise assets and software, such as root, administrator, and other pre-configured vendor accounts. Example implementations can include: disabling default accounts or making them unusable.

• Safeguard 5.4: Restrict Administrator Privileges to Dedicated Administrator Accounts: Restrict administrator privileges to dedicated administrator accounts on enterprise assets. Conduct general computing activities, such as internet browsing, email, and productivity suite use, from the user’s primary, non-privileged account.

• Safeguard 5.5: Establish and Maintain an Inventory of Service Accounts: Establish and maintain an inventory of service accounts. The inventory, at a minimum, must contain department owner, review date, and purpose. Perform service account reviews to validate that all active accounts are authorized, on a recurring schedule at a minimum quarterly, or more frequently.

• Architect sections of the network to isolate critical systems, functions, or resources. Use physical and logical segmentation to prevent access to potentially sensitive systems and information. Use a DMZ to contain any internet-facing services that should not be exposed from the internal network. Configure separate virtual private cloud (VPC) instances to isolate critical cloud systems. (M1030: Network Segmentation)

• Safeguard 12.2 : Establish and Maintain a Secure Network Architecture: Establish and maintain a secure network architecture. A secure network architecture must address segmentation, least privilege, and availability, at a minimum.

• Safeguard 12.8: Establish and Maintain Dedicated Computing Resources for All Administrative Work: Establish and maintain dedicated computing resources, either physically or logically separated, for all administrative tasks or tasks requiring administrative access. The computing resources should be segmented from the enterprise's primary network and not be allowed internet access.

• Use capabilities to detect and block conditions that may lead to or be indicative of a software exploit occurring (M1050 : Exploit Protection)

• Safeguard 13.10: Perform Application Layer Filtering: Perform application layer filtering. Example implementations include a filtering proxy, application layer firewall, or gateway.