Exploited Ransomware

CVE-2022-1388

F5 BIG-IP · Load balancers and access gateways (ADC)

F5 BIG-IP Missing Authentication Vulnerability

At a glance

Exploited. Added to CISA’s catalog of exploited vulnerabilities on May 10, 2022.

Used in ransomware attacks, according to CISA.

Affected product: F5 BIG-IP (category Load balancers and access gateways (ADC), indicative classification). Name in CISA’s catalog: F5 BIG-IP.

What should I do?

Apply the security update from F5.

Deadline set by CISA for US federal agencies: 21 days (due May 31, 2022). It only binds those agencies, but it is a useful measure of urgency.

F5 security advisories page (general page, not the advisory for this vulnerability)
The vendor’s specific advisory is listed in the NVD references: CVE-2022-1388 on the NVD website.

Original text of the required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Timeline

May 5, 2022 Vulnerability published Publication date (NVD)
May 10, 2022 Exploitation confirmed Added to CISA’s KEV catalog
May 31, 2022 CISA deadline Remediation deadline set for US federal agencies

The facts, with their sources

Exploitation confirmed: Yes, on May 10, 2022 Date added to the catalog of exploited vulnerabilities. Exploitation itself may have started earlier. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Ransomware: Known use Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Hunt for compromise: Not requested by CISA Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA required action: Apply the security update from F5. Rewritten by this site from CISA’s original text. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA deadline: May 31, 2022, 21 days Set for US federal agencies: a measure of urgency, not an obligation elsewhere. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Vulnerability published: May 5, 2022 Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC
Product according to CISA: F5 BIG-IP Filed by this site under “Load balancers and access gateways (ADC)” (indicative classification). Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Technical detail of the score: attack vector, complexity, impact. Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC

Severity and activity

9.8 / 10 CVSS severity: critical

Score from the NVD. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

— Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS)

FIRST’s EPSS model. Since exploitation is already confirmed, this figure is mostly useful to compare activity. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

Description

On F5 BIG-IP 16.1.x versions prior to 16.1.2.2, 15.1.x versions prior to 15.1.5.1, 14.1.x versions prior to 14.1.4.6, 13.1.x versions prior to 13.1.5, and all 12.1.x and 11.6.x versions, undisclosed requests may bypass iControl REST authentication. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated

F5 BIG-IP contains a missing authentication in critical function vulnerability which can allow for remote code execution, creation or deletion of files, or disabling services.

Summary from CISA (KEV catalog).

CERT-FR advisories

No advisory among the latest CERT-FR publications this site follows. That does not mean there are none.

Information reused under the Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab); the date of last update is shown for each advisory. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ANSSI.

Sources for this page

CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, required action, deadline, ransomware.
NVD (NIST): CVSS severity, publication date, description, vendor references.
EPSS (FIRST): probability of exploitation.
CERT-FR: advisories and alerts (in French).
Brand and category: indicative classification by this site (method).