BIG-IP ePVA Feature Causes TMM Crash via Undisclosed Traffic
CVE-2025-53856 Published on October 15, 2025
TMM vulnerability
When a virtual server, network address translation (NAT) object, or secure network address translation (SNAT) object uses the embedded Packet Velocity Acceleration (ePVA) feature, undisclosed traffic can cause the Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) to terminate. To determine which BIG-IP platforms have an ePVA chip refer to K12837: Overview of the ePVA feature https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K12837 . Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2025-53856 is exploitable with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a high impact on availability.
Weakness Type
Incorrect Control Flow Scoping
The software does not properly return control flow to the proper location after it has completed a task or detected an unusual condition.
Products Associated with CVE-2025-53856
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Affected Versions
F5 BIG-IP:- Version 17.5.0 and below 17.5.1.3 is affected.
- Version 17.1.0 and below 17.1.3 is affected.
- Version 16.1.0 and below 16.1.6.1 is affected.
- Version 15.1.0 and below 15.1.10.8 is affected.
Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.