How severe is CVE-2019-6609?

CVE-2019-6609 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2019-6609 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (70th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2019-6609?

CVE-2019-6609 primarily affects F5 Big-ip Local Traffic Manager. In total, 26 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2019-6609?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2019-6609 published?

CVE-2019-6609 was published on 2019-04-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2019-6609

CVE-2019-6609 is a critical-severity vulnerability in F5 Big-ip Local Traffic Manager with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-522.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 5.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (70th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-522
Affected product: F5 Big-ip Local Traffic Manager
Published: 2019-04-15
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Platform dependent weakness. This issue only impacts iSeries platforms. On these platforms, in BIG-IP (LTM, AAM, AFM, Analytics, APM, ASM, DNS, Edge Gateway, FPS, GTM, Link Controller, PEM, WebAccelerator) versions 14.0.0-14.1.0.1, 13.0.0-13.1.1.3, and 12.1.1 HF2-12.1.4, the secureKeyCapable attribute was not set which causes secure vault to not use the F5 hardware support to store the unit key. Instead the unit key is stored in plaintext on disk as would be the case for Z100 systems. Additionally this causes the unit key to be stored in UCS files taken on these platforms.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2019-6609?: Platform dependent weakness. This issue only impacts iSeries platforms. On these platforms, in BIG-IP (LTM, AAM, AFM, Analytics, APM, ASM, DNS, Edge Gateway, FPS, GTM, Link Controller, PEM, WebAccelerator) versions 14.0.0-14.1.0.1, 13.0.0-13.1.1.3, and 12.1.1 HF2-12.1.4, the secureKeyCapable attribute was not set which causes secure vault to not use the F5 hardware support to store the unit key. Instead the unit key is stored in plaintext on disk as would be the case for Z100 systems. Additionally this causes the unit key to be stored in UCS files taken on these platforms.
How severe is CVE-2019-6609?: CVE-2019-6609 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2019-6609 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (70th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2019-6609?: CVE-2019-6609 primarily affects F5 Big-ip Local Traffic Manager. In total, 26 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2019-6609?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2019-6609 published?: CVE-2019-6609 was published on 2019-04-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K18535734

Affected products (26)

cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_local_traffic_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_local_traffic_manager:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_application_acceleration_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_application_acceleration_manager:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_advanced_firewall_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_advanced_firewall_manager:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_analytics:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_analytics:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_access_policy_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_access_policy_manager:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_application_security_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_application_security_manager:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_domain_name_system:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_domain_name_system:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_edge_gateway:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_edge_gateway:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_fraud_protection_service:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_fraud_protection_service:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_global_traffic_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_global_traffic_manager:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_link_controller:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_link_controller:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_policy_enforcement_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_policy_enforcement_manager:12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_webaccelerator:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_webaccelerator12.1.1:hf2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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