CVE-2018-5543

The F5 BIG-IP Controller for Kubernetes 1.0.0-1.5.0 (k8s-bigip-crtl) passes BIG-IP username and password as command line parameters, which may lead to disclosure of the credentials used by the container.

Published: 2018-07-31 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2018-5543 is rated Moderate Risk (59.1/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.24%). Core evidence: EPSS rose +1.05% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-5543

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.19% 1.24% +1.05%
2 2025-03-30 0.36% 0.19% -0.17%
3 2025-03-29 0.36%

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-5543

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 5.9 [email protected]
4.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
8.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-5543

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-5543

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
f5 big-ip_controller >= 1.0.0, <= 1.5.0 cpe:2.3:a:f5:big-ip_controller:*:*:*:*:*:kubernetes:*:*

References for CVE-2018-5543

URL Tags
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104944 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K58935003 Vendor Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence