Release Notes : BIG-IP ASM 12.1.2

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BIG-IP ASM

  • 12.1.2
Release Notes
Original Publication Date: 07/17/2017 Updated Date: 04/18/2019

Summary:

These release notes document the version 12.1.2 release of BIG-IP Application Security Manager (ASM). You can apply the software upgrade to systems running software versions 10.1.0 (or later), or 11.x/12.x.

Contents:

Platform support

This version of the software is supported on the following platforms:

Platform name Platform ID
BIG-IP 1600 C102
BIG-IP 3600 C103
BIG-IP 3900 C106
BIG-IP 6900 D104
BIG-IP 8900 D106
BIG-IP 8950 D107
BIG-IP 11000 E101
BIG-IP 11050 E102
BIG-IP 2000 Series (2000s, BIG-IP 2200s) C112
BIG-IP 4000 Series (4000s, BIG-IP 4200v) C113
BIG-IP 5000 Series (5000s, 5050s, 5200v, 5250v) C109
BIG-IP 7000 Series (7000s, 7050s, 7055, 7200v, 7250v, 7255) D110
BIG-IP 10050 Series (10150s-NEBS, 10350v (AC), 10350v-NEBS (requires 12.0.0 HF1), 10350v-FIPS) D112
BIG-IP 10000 Series (10000s, 10050s, 10055, 10200v, 10250v, 10255) D113
BIG-IP 12000 Series (12250v) D111
BIG-IP i2000 Series (i2800) (requires 12.1.1 HF2) C117
BIG-IP i4000 Series (i4800) (requires 12.1.1 HF2) C115
BIG-IP i5000 Series (i5600/i5800) C119
BIG-IP i7000 Series (i7600/i7800) C118
BIG-IP i10000 Series (i10600/i10800) C116
VIPRION B2100 Blade A109
VIPRION B2150 Blade A113
VIPRION B2250 Blade A112
VIPRION B4200, B4200N Blade A107, A111
VIPRION B4300, B4340N Blade A108, A110
VIPRION B4450 Blade A114
VIPRION C2200 Chassis D114
VIPRION C2400 Chassis F100
VIPRION C4400, C4400N Chassis J100, J101
VIPRION C4480, C4480N Chassis J102, J103
VIPRION C4800, C4800N Chassis S100, S101
Virtual Edition (VE) Z100
vCMP Guest Z101

These platforms support various licensable combinations of product modules. This section provides general guidelines for module support.

Most of the support guidelines relate to memory. The following list applies for all memory levels:

  • vCMP supported platforms
    • VIPRION B2100, B2150, B2250, B4200
    • VIPRION B4300 blade in the 4400(J100)/4480(J102) and the 4800(S100)
    • BIG-IP 5200v, 5250v, 7200v, 7250v, 10200v, 10250v, 10350v, 12250v

Memory: 12 GB or more

All licensable module-combinations may be run on platforms with 12 GB or more of memory, and on VE and vCMP guests provisioned with 12 GB or more of memory. Note that this does not mean that all modules may be simultaneously provisioned on all platforms with 12 GB or more of memory. The BIG-IP license for the platform determines which combination of modules are available for provisioning.

Memory: 8 GB

The following guidelines apply to the BIG-IP 2000s, 2200s, 3900, 6900 platforms, to the VIPRION B4100 and B4100N platforms, and to VE guests configured with 8 GB of memory. (A vCMP guest provisioned with 8 GB of memory has less than 8 GB of memory actually available and thus does not fit in this category.)

  • No more than three modules should be provisioned together.
  • On the 2000s and 2200s, Application Acceleration Manager (AAM) can be provisioned with only one other module.
  • To use Access Policy Manager (APM) and Secure Web Gateway (SWG) modules together on platforms with exactly 8 GB of memory, Local Traffic Manager (LTM) provisioning must be set to None.

Memory: Less than 8 GB and more than 4 GB

The following guidelines apply to platforms, and to VE and vCMP guests provisioned with less than 8 GB and more than 4 GB of memory. (A vCMP guest provisioned with 8 GB of memory has less than 8 GB of memory actually available and thus fits in this category.)

  • No more than three modules (not including AAM) should be provisioned together.
  • Application Acceleration Manager (AAM) cannot be provisioned with any other module; AAM can only be provisioned standalone.
  • Analytics (AVR) counts towards the two module-combination limit (for platforms with less than 6.25 GB of memory).

Memory: 4 GB or less

The following guidelines apply to the BIG-IP 1600 and 3600 platforms, and to VE and vCMP guests provisioned with 4 GB or less of memory.

  • No more than two modules may be configured together.
  • AAM should not be provisioned, except as Dedicated.
  • ASM can be provisioned with this amount of memory, but a sizing exercise should be performed to ensure that it does not hit capacity issues.

vCMP memory provisioning calculations

The amount of memory provisioned to a vCMP guest is calculated using the following formula: (platform_memory- 3 GB) x (cpus_assigned_to_guest/ total_cpus).

As an example, for the B2100 with two guests, provisioned memory calculates as: (16-3) x (2/4) ~= 6.5 GB.

For certain platforms, the vCMP host can allocate a single core to a vCMP guest. However, because a single-core guest has relatively small amounts of CPU resources and allocated memory, F5 supports only the following products or product combinations for a single-core guest:
  • BIG-IP LTM standalone only
  • BIG-IP GTM standalone only
  • BIG-IP LTM and GTM combination only

Configuration utility browser support

The BIG-IP Configuration Utility supports these browsers and versions:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 11.x
  • Mozilla Firefox 27.x
  • Google Chrome 32.x

Compatibility of BIG-IQ products with BIG-IP releases

SOL14592: Compatibility between BIG-IQ and BIG-IP releases provides a summary of version compatibility for specific features between the BIG-IQ system and BIG-IP releases.

User documentation for this release

For a comprehensive list of documentation that is relevant to this release, refer to the BIG-IP ASM / VE 12.1.2 Documentation page.

Maintenance release fixes, behavior changes, and known issues

For a comprehensive list of fixes, behavior changes, and known issues for this release, refer to the BIG-IP 12.1.2 Release Information page.

New in 12.1.2

There were no new features introduced in version 12.1.2.

Installation overview

This document covers very basic steps for installing the software. You can find complete, step-by-step installation and upgrade instructions in BIG-IP Systems: Upgrading Software, and we strongly recommend that you reference this information to ensure successful completion of the installation process.

Installation checklist

Before you begin:

  • Use BIG-IP iHealth to verify your configuration file. For more information, see SOL12878: Generating BIG-IP diagnostic data using the qkview utility.
  • Update/reactivate your system or vCMP host license, if needed, to ensure that you have a valid service check date. For more information, see SOL7727 - License activation may be required prior to a software upgrade for the BIG-IP or Enterprise Manager system.
  • Ensure that your system is running version 10.1.0 or later and is using the volumes formatting scheme.
  • Download the .iso file (if needed) from F5 Downloads to /shared/images on the source for the operation. (If you need to create this directory, use the exact name /shared/images.)
  • Configure a management port.
  • Set the console and system baud rate to 19200, if it is not already.
  • Log on as an administrator using the management port of the system you want to upgrade.
  • Boot into an installation location other than the target for the installation.
  • Save the user configuration set (UCS) in the /var/local/ucs directory on the source installation location, and copy the UCS file to a safe place on another device.
  • Log on to the standby unit, and only upgrade the active unit after the standby upgrade is satisfactory.
  • Turn off mirroring.
  • If you are running Application Acceleration Manager, set provisioning to Minimum.
  • If you are running Policy Enforcement Manager, set provisioning to Nominal.
  • If you are running Advanced Firewall Manager, set provisioning to Nominal.

Installing the software

You can install the software at the command line using the Traffic Management shell, tmsh, or in the browser-based Configuration utility using the Software Management screens, available in the System menu. Choose the installation method that best suits your environment.
Installation method Command
Install to existing volume, migrate source configuration to destination tmsh install sys software image [image name] volume [volume name]
Install from the browser-based Configuration utility Use the Software Management screens in a web browser.

Sample installation command

The following command installs version 11.2.0 to volume 3 of the main hard drive.

tmsh install sys software image BIGIP-11.2.0.2446.0.iso volume HD1.3

Post-installation tasks

This document covers very basic steps for installing the software. You can find complete, step-by-step installation and upgrade instructions in BIG-IP Systems: Upgrading Software, and we strongly recommend that you reference this information to ensure successful completion of the installation process.

After the installation finishes, you must complete the following steps before the system can pass traffic.
  1. Ensure the system rebooted to the new installation location.
  2. Use BIG-IP iHealth to verify your configuration file. For more information, see SOL12878: Generating BIG-IP diagnostic data using the qkview utility.
  3. Log on to the browser-based Configuration utility.
  4. Run the Setup utility.
  5. Provision the modules.
  6. Convert any bigpipe scripts to tmsh. (Versions later than 10.x do not support the bigpipe utility.)
Note: You can find information about running the Setup utility and provisioning the modules in BIG-IP TMOS implementations Creating an Active-Standby Configuration Using the Setup Utility and Creating an Active-Active Configuration Using the Setup Utility.

Installation tips

  • The upgrade process installs the software on the inactive installation location that you specify. This process usually takes between three minutes and seven minutes. During the upgrade process, you see messages posted on the screen. For example, you might see a prompt asking whether to upgrade the End User Diagnostics (EUD), depending on the version you have installed. To upgrade the EUD, type yes, otherwise, type no.
  • You can check the status of an active installation operation by running the command watch tmsh show sys software, which runs the show sys software command every two seconds. Pressing Ctrl + C stops the watch feature.
  • If installation fails, you can view the log file. The system stores the installation log file as /var/log/liveinstall.log.

Upgrading from earlier versions

Your upgrade process differs depending on the version of software you are currently running.

Warning: Do not use the 10.x installation methods (the Software Management screens, the b software or tmsh sys software commands, or the image2disk utility) to install/downgrade to 9.x software or operate on partitions. Depending on the operations you perform, doing so might render the system unusable. If you need to downgrade from version 10.x to version 9.x, use the image2disk utility to format the system for partitions, and then use a version 9.x installation method described in the version 9.x release notes to install the version 9.x software.

Upgrading from version 10.1.0 (or later) or 11.x

When you upgrade from version 10.1.0 (or later) or 11.x software, you use the Software Management screens in the Configuration utility to complete these steps. To open the Software Management screens, in the navigation pane of the Configuration utility, expand System, and click Software Management. For information about using the Software Management screens, see the online help.

Upgrading from versions earlier than 10.1.0 11.x

You cannot roll forward a configuration directly to this version from BIG-IP version 4.x, or from BIG-IP versions 9.0.x through 9.6.x. You must be running version 10.1.0 software. For details about upgrading to those versions, see the release notes for the associated release.

Automatic firmware upgrades

If this version includes new firmware for your specific hardware platform, after you install and activate this version, the system might reboot additional times to perform all necessary firmware upgrades.

Upgrading earlier configurations

When you upgrade from an earlier versions of the software, you might need to know about or take care of these configuration-specific issues.

ID Number Description
588946 You can install v11.5.4 on the 12250v platform, but are unable to license BIG-IP. This is because v11.5.4 is not supported on the 12250v platform. Install BIG-IP v11.5.4 on a 12250v platform. BIG-IP v11.5.4 is not supported on the 12250v platform. Even though installation succeeds, it is not possible to license BIG-IP system. Workaround: Install a supported version of BIG-IP on the 12250v. Supported versions are 11.6.0 HF2 or later and 12.0.0 or later.
223704 When you import a single configuration file (SCF file) that contain VLANs of the same name that exist in different administrative partitions, the operation fails with a unknown operation error. Upgrading configurations with VLANs of the same name in different administrative partitions. Upgrade operation fails with a unknown operation error. Workaround: Before installing an SCF file, run the command: tmsh load sys config default. This returns the system to the default configuration, so subsequent configuration import operations should succeed as expected.
513501 When upgrading from a version prior to 11.5.0 to 11.5.0 or newer, the configuration might fail to load with an error similar to the following: LSN pool is configured with a prefix address that overlaps with a prefix address on another LSN pool. "On versions prior to 11.5.0, tmsh allowed users to configure overlapping DNAT and NAPT pools, even though this configuration is invalid and non-functional. Version 11.5.0 and later contain validation to prohibit such configurations. However, when upgrading versions newer than 11.5.0, a configuration that contains overlapping DNAT and NAPT pools fails to load." Configuration fails to load on upgrade. Workaround: Edit bigip.conf and locate the overlapping LSN pools. Either remove one of the pools or change the mode on the DNAT pool to NAPT.
434364 "When upgrading from 10.x or installing a 10.x originated UCS on 11.x, bigpipe is used to parse the newly created file-object definitions which had been generated from files in the 10.x install. If the filename being upgraded to file-object starts with a '.', then on initial load, bigpipe will give an error while trying to load the generated configuration, resulting in an error message similar to: BIGpipe parsing error (/config/bigpipe/bigip.conf Line 107): 012e0017:3: The requested item (.myfile.txt {) is invalid (external_monitor_file_object_key | show | list | help) for 'external monitor file object'" The installation of a UCS or configuration roll-forward from 10.x to 11.x in which the previous install had files that were upgraded to file-objects, but whose filename started with a '.' The UCS will not install properly, and/or the configuration on initial boot will not load. Workaround: Edit the name of the file-object in question which would be found in /config/bigpipe/bigip.conf to remove the leading '.' character from the object name, and make any references to the file-object match that change.
571333 When a VIP is configured with a fastl4 profile that enables full acceleration and offload state to embryonic, and if a flow is offloaded to be hardware accelerated, the connection idle timeout during the TCP handshake is set to the "idle timeout" value of the fastl4 profile, but it should be set to the "tcp handshake timeout" instead. "1. Configure fastl4 profile with ePVA=full, offload state=SYN, apply to network VS 2. Ensure ARP entry exists for server node (static arp, ping, etc.) to satisfy requirements for offloading initial SYN 3. Send over SYN packet from client to server via VS" The connection may remain in the half-open state longer than what is set in the TCP handshake timeout value. Workaround: Set the offload state to "established"
436075 Using syslog include field when the command 'syslog-ng -s' does not succeed before the upgrade. Using syslog include field. It is possible to roll forward an include field with invalid syntax. This will cause the configuration to fail to load. Workaround: When using the syslog include field, ensure that the command 'syslog-ng -s' succeeds before the upgrade.
581932 Upgrading to a newer version of the BIG-IP software removes the signatures that were installed using an IM signature package, and returns app signatures to the default version. "- New '.im' signature package installed manually using the BIG-IP GUI or tmsh. This adds extra applications and categories to the default signatures. - TMOS software upgraded to a newer version, for example installing a rollup hotfix or an engineering ho" "After rebooting into the new software volume, all the additional categories and applications are gone but the signature package is still showing as installed. This makes a simple re-installation of the new .im signature package impossible. The applications and categories are actually back to default settings for version 11.6.0." Workaround:

    "1. After rebooting into the new software volume, open the bigip.conf file with a text editor and remove all the configurations from the 'ltm classification signature-version' stanza:
            ltm classification signature-version {
            }.
            
      2. Manually remove the following files:
            /shared/lib64/libcec.so.11.6.0*.
            /shared/tmp/classification_update.conf*.
            /shared/lib64/libqmprotocols.so*.
            
      3. Create the file /service/mcpd/forceload  to force a reload of the mcpd binary database after the reboot by running the command: touch /service/mcpd/forceload.
            
      4. Reboot the system.
            
      5. Re-install the .im signature package."

436825 Under certain conditions, nodes (or any other object with an IP address) in a partition that belong to route domain 0 will be treated as part of the default route domain for the partition after an upgrade. "All of these conditions must be true: - A system is being upgraded from any TMOS v10.x release to any TMOS v11.x release after 11.1 or any TMOS v12.x release. Upgrading to 11.0.0 or 11.1.0 is not affected, but the upgrade process resets the partition's default-route-domain setting to 0. - It has a partition that has its default route domain set to a nonzero route domain. - That partition contains nodes with no route domain set (so the default is used). - That partition contains other nodes in route domain 0." Those objects might no longer be addressable or able to connect. Workaround: "Set the partition's default route domain ID to 0 before upgrading, then set it back to its previous value after the upgrade. This field is only used by the GUI and shell, so temporarily changing it to 0 will have no effect on the dataplane."
415961 The upgrade process does not migrate unassigned HTTP Class profiles to BIG-IP 11.4.0 and later When you upgrade a BIG-IP system to BIG-IP 11.4.0 or later, the upgrade process attempts to convert all assigned HTTP Class profiles to their equivalent local traffic policies. If an HTTP Class profile is not assigned to a virtual server, the upgrade process will not perform the conversion and the unassigned HTTP Class profile will no longer exist in the configuration of the upgraded BIG-IP system. Similarly, if you restore a UCS archive that contains unassigned HTTP Class profiles in BIG-IP 11.4.0 and later, the restoration process will not convert the unassigned HTTP Class profiles and these profiles will no longer exist. This behavior is by design. You might lose unused HTTP Class profiles in the configuration. Workaround: "When upgrading to BIG-IP 11.4.0 and later or saving a UCS archive from a pre-11.4.0 system, you should consider the following factor: Prior to upgrading or saving a UCS archive, ensure that all HTTP Class profiles are assigned to a virtual server."
523797 The upgrade operation might fail to update the file path name for snmp.process_name, causing a validation error. Upgrade from 10.x. The upgrade operation does not remove the parent path name from process-monitors, which might cause a validation error. Workaround: Edit the process name path to reflect the location. For more information, see SOL13540: The BIG-IP system may return inaccurate results for the prTable SNMP object at https://support.f5.com/kb/en-us/solutions/public/13000/500/sol13540.html
401828 The following configurations are invalid for a SIP virtual server: a) TCP virtual server with a UDP profile and a SIP profile. b) UDP virtual server with a TCP profile and a SIP profile. TCP virtual server with a UDP profile and a SIP profile, or a UDP virtual server with a TCP profile and a SIP profile. If such a configuration exists in previous versions, it loads in 11.3.x but may cause a core. Workaround: "Fix the configuration manually, as follows: a) A SIP TCP virtual server must have TCP as one of its profile type. b) A SIP UDP virtual server must have UDP as one of its profile type."
490139 Loading iRules from the iRules file deletes last few comment lines immediately preceding the closing bracket. This occurs when loading an iRule file from versions prior to 11.5.1. Although the comments are removed, this does not affect iRule functionality. Workaround: Put comments in places other than immediately above the closing bracket.
496663 iRule object in non-Common partition referenced from another partition results in upgrade/configuration load failure in 11.x/12.x. This occurs when upgrading/loading a configuration containing an iRule in one non-Common partition that references an object in another non-Common partition. A configuration of this type can be saved only using pre-11.x versions of the software. The config upgrade fails, and the UCS/configuration files cannot be loaded. The system posts an error message similar to the following: 'myucs.ucs' failed with the following error message: 'Rule [/UNCOMMONPARTITION/RULEABC] error: Unable to find rule_object (...) referenced at line xyz: [element]'. Workaround: None.
435332 If there are users defined on a version 10.2.1 BIG-IP system to have administrator or resource-admin roles, and they have partition access to a single partition, these user config objects fail to load during an upgrade to version 11.x/12.x. "Here is a sample user config from 10.2.1: user v-abban { password crypt '$1$UIPmGYdY$yewCx.a2qNDauz/UB1Jbp/' description 'v-abban' group 500 home '/home/v-abban' shell '/bin/false' role administrator in Common }" Upgrade or load UCS fails with the following error: 01070821:3: User Restriction Error: The administrator, resource administrator, auditor and web application security administrator roles may not be restricted to a single partition. Workaround: Prior to upgrade, edit the bigip_sys.conf to have the role line as follows: ... role administrator in [All] }
532559 If the client-ssl profile is /Common/clientssl, its parent profile is supposed to be /Common/clientssl. But the configuration could potentially use 'defaults-from none'. "This condition could be caused by executing the following command when generating the configuration. 'tmsh modify ltm profile client-ssl clientssl defaults-from none'" The upgrade fails after booting into the new release, during the config loading phase. This occurs because the script extracts the line 'defaults-from none' and treats 'none' as its parent profile. Workaround: Edit the configuration prior to upgrading, changing the defaults-from value on the client-ssl profile to the name of that profile.
449617 If a configuration file includes a passphrase for an ssl-key file object, the object may fail to validate when loading the configuration. Passphrase present in ssl-key file object Configuration fails to load Workaround: Remove passphrase line from the file object.
450050 "Following upgrade from 10.x to 11.x/12.x, the config file fails to load. An error similar to the following is logged: load_config_files: '/usr/libexec/bigpipe load' - failed. -- BIGpipe parsing error (/config/bigpipe/bigip.conf Line xxxx): 012e0020:3: The requested item (respondasm {) is invalid (<profile arg> | show | list | edit | delete | stats reset) for 'profile'." "- Upgrading from 10.x to 11.x/12.x. - respondclass configuration directives exist in /config/bigip.conf, for example: profile respondclass XXXX { ... }" Configuration fails to load. Workaround: It is safe in version 11.0.0 and later to manually delete the block: profile respondclass XXXX {.
586878 "During upgrade, configuration fails to load due to invalid clientssl profile cert/key configuration. The validation to verify whether at least one valid key/cert pair exists in clientssl profiles was enforced in software versions through 11.5.0. This validation was not in effect in versions 11.5.1, 11.5.2, and 11.5.3. The lack of validation resulted in invalid clientssl profiles (those containing empty key/certs or a cert/key of 'default'). When you upgrade such a configuration to 11.5.4 or later, you will receive a validation error, and the configuration will fail to load after upgrade." "The issue occurs when all the below conditions are met.

      1. You have a clientssl profile in a configuration from a version without validation (that is, 11.5.1, 11.5.2, or 11.5.3).
      2. The clientssl profile in the configuration has an empty cert/key, or a cert/key of 'default'.
      3. You upgrade to a version that has the cert/key validation (specifically, 11.5.4, 11.6.0, and versions 12.1.0 and later)." "Configuration fails to load. The system posts an error message that might appear similar to one of the following:
            -- 01070315:3: profile /Common/my_client_ssl requires a key Unexpected Error: Loading configuration process failed.
            -- 01071ac9:3: Unable to load the certificate file () - error:2006D080:BIO routines:BIO_new_file:no such file.
            Unexpected Error: Loading configuration process failed."
Workaround: "To workaround this situation, modify the configuration file before upgrading:
      1. Check the config file /config/bigip.conf.
      2. Identify the clientssl profile without a cert/key.
            For example, it might look similar to the following:
            ltm profile client-ssl /Common/cssl_no-cert-key2 {
            app-service none
            cert none
            cert-key-chain {
            """" { }
            }
            chain none
            defaults-from /Common/clientssl
            inherit-certkeychain false
            key none
            passphrase none
            }
            
            Note: The profile might have cert-key-chain name but not the cert/key.
            In other words, it could also appear similar to the following example:
            ltm profile client-ssl /Common/cssl_no-cert-key2 {
            app-service none
            cert none
            cert-key-chain {
            default { }
            }
            chain none
            defaults-from /Common/clientssl
            inherit-certkeychain false
            key none
            passphrase none
            }
      3. Remove the clientssl profile from /config/bigip.conf.
      4. Run the command: tmsh load sys conf.
      5. Re-create the clientssl profiles you need."

435482 "BIG-IP configuration object names that include a space may cause an upgrade or user configuration set (UCS) load to fail. As a result of this issue, you may encounter the following symptoms: Your attempts to upgrade the BIG-IP system or load a UCS fail. After loading a UCS file or upgrading from a configuration that has object names with spaces on BIG-IP 11.4.0 or a later version, the Configuration utility displays an error message similar to the following example: The configuration has not yet loaded. If this message persists, it may indicate a configuration problem. After loading a UCS file that has configuration object names that include spaces on BIG-IP 11.4.0 or a later version, a message appears similar to following example: Unexpected Error: Configuration cannot be saved unless mcpd is in the running phase. Save was canceled. See 'show sys mcp' and 'show sys service'. If 'show sys service' indicates that mcpd is in the run state, but 'show sys mcp' is not in phase running, issue the command 'load sys config' to further diagnose the problem." "This issue occurs when one of the following conditions is met: You attempt to upgrade a BIG-IP system from 11.3.0, or an earlier version, with a configuration that has configuration object names with spaces. You attempt to load a BIG-IP 11.3.0 or earlier UCS file, that has configuration object names with spaces, on BIG-IP 11.4.0 or a later version." The BIG-IP system upgrade or UCS load fails. Workaround: "To work around this issue, you can boot back to the previous BIG-IP 11.3.0 or earlier version and rename all affected configuration objects to exclude spaces before upgrading or saving a UCS file. Impact of workaround: Performing the suggested workaround should not have a negative impact on your system."
489015 An LTM request-log profile that references a non-existent pool can pass validation in 11.0.0 or 11.1.0, but fails in 11.2.0 or later, with an error similar to the following: 'The requested Pool (/Common/poolname) was not found.' "This issue occurs when all of the following conditions are met: The UCS file has a Request Logging profile configuration with at least one of the following conditions: A Request Logging profile references a non-existent pool. A Request Logging profile references a pool in a non-default administrative partition without specifying the path to the /<partition>/<pool>. You upgrade from 11.0.0 or 11.1.0 to 11.2.0 or later and roll forward the configuration. You attempt to load an affected UCS created on 11.0.0 or 11.1.0 to a system running 11.2.0 or later." This can cause a load failure when rolling forward the configuration. Workaround: Correct the request-log profile in the config either prior to upgrade or by editing the config after.

Issues when upgrading from earlier ASM versions

If you upgrade from an earlier version of ASM, note the following issues.

Upgrade warnings and notes

The Application Security Manager supports .ucs files from versions 10.1.0 and later of the Application Security Manager. Additionally, you may import policies exported from versions 10.1.0 and later of the Application Security Manager.

Warning: With the introduction of the Local Traffic Policies feature in BIG-IP version 11.4.0, HTTP Class iRule events and commands are no longer available. If you plan to upgrade to 11.4.0 or later, and your configuration contains an iRule that uses an HTTP class iRule event or command, please read SOL14381: HTTP Class iRule events and commands are no longer available in BIG-IP 11.4.0 and later.

Warning: Local Traffic Policies do not support regular expressions for matching. While the upgrade process is able to migrate simple glob expressions, manual administrator intervention is required in order to ensure that the policies are properly configured. If you plan to upgrade to 11.4.0 or later, and your configuration contains regular expressions or glob expressions, please read SOL14409: The HTTP Class profile is no longer available in BIG-IP 11.4.0 and later.

Important: The system creates its internal cookie in versions 10.2.4 and later (including all versions of 11.x) differently than in versions prior to 10.2.4. As a result, while upgrading your system from a version prior to 10.2.4 to version 10.2.4 or later, the system will produce the Modified ASM Cookie violation for existing browser sessions. If the security policy has the Modified ASM Cookie violation enabled and set to block traffic when this violation occurs, after upgrading to version 10.2.4 or later, the system will block traffic to the web application. However, since the TS cookie is a session cookie, the system will block traffic only until the browser session ends (the end-user restarts the browser). To prevent the security policy from blocking traffic until the end-user’s browser is restarted, before upgrading to version 10.2.4 or later, we recommend you disable the security policy from blocking the Modified ASM Cookie violation, upgrade, and wait long enough to allow all users to restart their browsers (two weeks are expected to be enough). After enabling the violation, we recommend you monitor the logs. If the Modified ASM Cookie violation appears, consider disabling the violation again for a longer period of time, or communicate to the users to restart their browsers.

Preserved data

When upgrading to this version of the Application Security Manager, the system does not preserve reporting information (such as Requests and Charts) and manual traffic learning suggestions.

HTTP protocol compliance failed sub-violations

If you upgrade or import a security policy from a version prior to 11.6.0, the system automatically enables the following HTTP protocol compliance-failed sub-violations, even if they were previously disabled:

  • Bad HTTP version
  • Null in request
  • Unparsable request content

You can manually disable these violations after the upgrade or import.

Layer 7

In version 11.4.0, local traffic policies replace HTTP Classes. When you create an ASM security policy, the system automatically creates a default Layer 7 local traffic policy. Note the following changes that occur to your system after upgrading from a version prior to 11.4.0:

  • A Layer 7 local traffic policy is created and the HTTP class is removed. If the HTTP Class name is different than the name of the security policy, upon upgrade, the system changes the name of the security policy to the name of the HTTP Class.
  • Security policies are now in folders (partitioned) like pools and virtual servers. Upon upgrade, the system places security policies in the folder to which the HTTP Class belonged. The system places security policies that were inactive in the /Common folder.
  • iRules that use HTTP Class do not work here. Users must manually change the HTTP Class part of the iRule to Policy after the upgrade.

ASM cookie security

As a result of changes made to the signing of ASM cookies in version 11.4.0, performing a clean upgrade may result in cookie violations and blocked traffic. To prevent these, F5 recommends that you perform the following actions before upgrading:

  • Disable the modified domain cookie violation, and re-enable it only after at least 24 hours have passed.
  • If you do not have a wildcard cookie, before the upgrade add an ASM allowed cookie to the security policy, with the name TS*.
  • Have all clients restart their browsers.

After upgrading, users must synchronize their Cookie Protection settings in the following cases:

  • Systems that share traffic but are NOT in the same device group
  • Systems from different versions that share traffic, even if they are in the same device group

Cookie signature validation

After upgrading, the system performs the following:

  • Turns on staging for all Allowed cookies
  • Applies signature checks on existing Allowed cookies
  • Adds a * wildcard Allowed cookie even if the user did not have on previously Upgrading to version 11.3.0 or later

Web scraping

There was a check box for enabling web scraping that was removed in version 11.3.0.

  • When you upgrade from versions 11.0.0 through 11.2.x, if the check box is enabled, the new Bot Detection setting has the option Alarm and Block enabled. If the check box is not enabled, the value is Off.
  • When you upgrade from versions prior to 11.0.0 (where there was no enable flag), the Bot Detection setting is based on the blocking check boxes for web scraping:
    • If the global Block check box is enabled, the value is Alarm and Block.
    • If the global Block check box is disabled, and the global Alarm check box is enabled, the value is Alarm.
    • If both Alarm and Block check boxes are disabled, the value is Off.

Brute Force

In versions prior to 11.3.0, if the Dynamic Brute Force Protection Operation Mode was Blocking, and the security policy’s Enforcement Mode was Transparent, the system blocked brute force attacks. In order to keep functionality after upgrading, the system continues to block brute force attacks if you upgrade to versions 11.3.0 or later, under these circumstances. However, in versions 11.3.0 and later, the functionality changed so that if the security policy’s Enforcement Mode is Transparent, so the system does not block brute force attacks even if the Dynamic Brute Force Protection Operation Mode setting is Alarm and Block (previously Blocking).

DoS profiles

In versions 11.3.0 and later, DoS profiles are assigned to virtual servers. Previously, they were assigned to security policies.

  • Upon upgrading DoS Profiles from versions prior to 11.3.0, all active security policies have their DoS settings migrated and assigned to the virtual server associated with the HTTP Class. If a virtual server had more than one HTTP Class assigned to it, it inherits the settings of the last in the list.
  • If you have a disabled DoS profile in a version prior to 11.3.0, and upgrade, after the upgrade the system automatically assigns the DoS profile to a virtual server. As a result, even though the system does not perform DoS protection, it still collects statistics, which impacts the system’s performance. To work around this issue, if you have a disabled DoS profile assigned to a virtual server, to improve system performance you should remove its association from the virtual server. (ID 405211)
  • We do not support exporting and importing DoS profiles.

Logging Profiles

In versions 11.3.0 and later, logging profiles are assigned to virtual servers. Previously, they were assigned to security policies. Upon upgrading logging profiles from versions prior to 11.3.0, all active security policies have their logging profile settings migrated and assigned to the virtual server associated with the HTTP Class. If a virtual server had more than one HTTP Class assigned to it, it inherits the settings of the last in the list.

XFF configuration (ID 405312)

In versions prior to 11.3.0, DoS profiles used the Trust XFF setting that was a security policy setting. The Trust XFF setting was renamed Accept XFF, and moved from a security policy property to a property of the HTTP profile. If you upgrade a DoS profile and a security policy with the Trust XFF setting enabled, after the upgrade, the new XFF configuration setting is disabled. If you want the DoS profile to continue trusting XFF, navigate to Local Traffic > Profiles > Services > HTTP > Properties screen, and enable the Accept XFF setting.

IP address whitelist

In version 11.2 we unified various whitelists for Policy Builder trusted IP addresses, and anomaly whitelists (DoS Attack Prevention, Brute Force Attack Prevention, and Web Scraping Detection) into a single list. When you upgrade, these separate lists are unified to a single whitelist (called the IP Address Exceptions List).

Ignored Entities

We store ignored file types, URLs, and flows with security policies created in version 11.2. Previously, they were associated with the Application Security Manager’s web application (known as the HTTP Class in version 11.1).

  • Upon upgrade, ignored entities and URLs are automatically transferred to the active security policy, but ignored flows are not upgraded.
  • You can import and export ignored entities configured in version 11.2.1 by importing and exporting the security policy to which they belong. However, since ignored entities created before version 11.2 are not stored with their security policies, they cannot be exported or imported.

Changes the system makes if you upgrade from version 10.x

If you upgrade from version 10.x, note the following:

  • Web Applications: Web Applications have a folder prefix added to their name, corresponding to their HTTP Profile.
    Note: The term "web application" in the context of ASM was removed in version 11.1.0.
  • Denial of Service (DoS) Attack Prevention Settings:
    • The URL Detection Criteria: Minimum TPS Threshold setting is populated with the value of the internal parameter dos_min_detection_object_threshold previously set in the Options > Advanced Configuration screen.
    • The IP Detection Criteria: Minimum TPS Threshold setting is populated with the value of the internal parameter dos_min_detection_ip_threshold previously set in the Options > Advanced Configuration screen.
  • Active-standby pair: When upgrading an active-standby pair running Application Security Manager from version 10.x, the Application Security Manager does not require specific preparation, and no additional configuration is required after completing the upgrade to version 11.0. If you update two redundant systems that are running as an active-standby pair with ASM and LTM provisioned, the system maintains the active-standby status and automatically creates a fail over device group and a traffic group containing both systems. The device group is enabled for ASM (because both systems have ASM provisioned). You can manually push or pull the updates (including LTM and ASM configurations and policies) from one system to the other ( Device Management > Device Groups , then click Config Sync and choose Synchronize TO/FROM Group).

Changes the system makes if you upgrade or import a security policy from version 10.x

If you upgrade from version 10.x, or import a security policy from version 10.x, note the following:

  • URL Settings:
    • URLs that were associated with an XML profile (without a specified Content-Type) will have that XML profile used as default handling.
    • URLs that were associated with an XML profile for a specific Content-Type will have that XML profile used as an additional handling. The default handling for the URL is HTTP.
    • URLs that previously had Check AMF enforced will have an additional handling, with Request Header Name set to Content-Type and Request Header Value set to *[aA][mM][fF]*. The default handling for the URL is HTTP.
    • All other URLs will simply have default handling set as HTTP.
  • Vulnerability Assessment (WhiteHat Sentinel) Settings: A user who used previous versions of ASM with Sentinel integration and now upgrades to this version will continue to get opened vulnerabilities (Sentinel status: Open, ASM status: Pending) for those URLs and parameters that were already handled in the previous version. The resolution of this problem is to resolve again those vulnerabilities that appear to be open.
  • Policy Builder Changes:
    • The Dynamic Parameters: Using Statistics - Form parameters check box is enabled while the Dynamic Parameters: Using statistics - Link parameters check box is not enabled.
    • The Learn from responses check box is enabled.
    • The Collapse to one entity check box is enabled if it used to have a value of 0. The Collapse to one entity check box is enabled if it used to have a value greater than 0, and the value is preserved.
  • Cookies Settings:
    • The Cookies Settings is set to By adding allowed cookies, and the system enforces cookies as it did in versions prior to version 11.0.0.
    • All allowed cookies are upgraded as Allow cookies.
    • Tightening is upgraded as Add allowed cookies.
    • Wildcard order: Longer and more specific wildcards are first in the list, and * and less specific wildcards are last.
  • Web Applications: Web Applications will have a folder prefix added to their name, corresponding to their HTTP Profile.
    Note: The term "web application" in the context of ASM was removed in version 11.1.0.
  • Denial of Service (DoS) Attack Prevention Settings:
    • The URL Detection Criteria: Minimum TPS Threshold setting is populated with the value of the internal parameter dos_min_detection_object_threshold previously set in the Options > Advanced Configuration screen.
    • The IP Detection Criteria: Minimum TPS Threshold setting is populated with the value of the internal parameter dos_min_detection_ip_threshold previously set in the Options > Advanced Configuration screen.
  • CSRF, Web Scraping, and Data Guard Settings: In version 11.x there are new check boxes on the configuration settings screens for each of these features; you must select each in order to enable these features. After upgrade or import, CSRF, Web Scraping, and Data Guard will be enabled if the corresponding violations had any of the Learn, Alarm, or Block check boxes enabled in the security policy's blocking settings screen.

Security policy status after UCS installation

After you install a .ucs (user configuration set) file that was exported from version 10.1.0 or later, the system does not automatically apply changes that you made, but did not apply, to the security policies. The system enforces the web application according to the settings of the last set active security policy. However, the system preserves any changes to the current edited security policy, and marks the security policy as modified [M] if the changes have not been applied.

Running Application Security Manager on a vCMP system

If you are running Application Security Manager on a vCMP system: For best performance, F5 recommends configuring remote logging to store ASM logs remotely on Syslog servers rather than locally.

About changing the resource provisioning level of the Application Security Manager

After upgrading or installing a new version, before you can use the Application Security Manager, you must set the Application Security Manager resource provisioning level to Nominal. You can do this from the command line, or using the Configuration utility.

Important: Wait 5 minutes after you set the resource provisioning level before making any configuration changes to the Application Security Manager. The system overrides all configuration changes that were made before this process is completed. When the process is not complete, the system informs you by displaying, in the Configuration utility, the following message: ASM is not ready. The system informs you when the process is completed by indicating in the log (/var/log/asm) the following message: ASM started successfully.

Setting the Application Security Manager resource provisioning level to Nominal from the command line

You can set the Application Security Manager resource provisioning level to Nominal from the command line.
  1. Open the command-line interface utility.
  2. Type the command: tmsh modify sys provision asm level nominal
  3. Type the command: tmsh save sys config.
The screen refreshes, and the resource provisioning level of the Application Security Manager is set to Nominal.

Setting the Application Security Manager resource provisioning level to Nominal using the Configuration utility

You can set the Application Security Manager resource provisioning level to Nominal using the Configuration utility.
  1. On the Main tab, click System > Resource Provisioning . The Resource Provisioning screen opens.
  2. Set the Application Security (ASM) option to Nominal.
  3. Click Submit.
The screen refreshes, and the resource provisioning level of the Application Security Manager is set to Nominal.

About working with device groups

Note: This section is relevant only if you are working with device groups.

When Application Security Manager (ASM) is provisioned, the datasync-global-dg device-group is automatically created (even if there are no device-groups on the unit) in any of the following scenarios:

  • First provisioning of ASM on a device that has version 11.6.0, or later, installed.
  • Adding a device (with version 11.6.0 or later) to a trust-domain that has another device which already has the datasync-global-dg device-group.
  • Upgrading to version 11.6.0, or later, when ASM is already provisioned.
  • Upgrading to version 11.6.0, or later, when the device is joined in a trust-domain that has another device which already has the datasync-global-dg device-group.

This device group is used to synchronize client-side scripts and cryptographic keys across all of the devices in the trust-domain.

Note the following:

  • The synchronization is performed across the entire trust-domain, regardless of the configured device groups.
  • The datasync-global-dg device group must not be removed; it is essential for consistency of client-side scripts and keys across the devices.
  • This device group is created upon provisioning, even if the BIG-IP system is working as a standalone.
  • All of the devices in the trust-domain are automatically added to this device group.
  • This device group is manually synchronized. Therefore, when working with device groups (multiple devices in a trust-domain), customers must choose which device will hold the master scripts and keys. The rest of the devices receive these scripts and keys from the chosen device.
  • This device group is also created on units that do not have ASM provisioned, but are in a trust-domain with other units which do have ASM provisioned.

Synchronizing the device group

When adding a device to the trust-domain, or upgrading from a release prior to version 11.6.0, you must manually synchronize this device group.
  1. In the Configuration utility, navigate to Device Management > Overview .
  2. In the Device Groups area, click datasync-global-dg.
  3. In the Devices area, click the device which is chosen to have the master scripts and keys. These scripts and keys will be sent to the rest of the devices.
  4. Under Sync Options, select Sync Device to Group.
  5. Check Overwrite Configuration.
  6. Click Sync.
  7. When the warning message appears, click OK.
The device that you selected continues to work seamlessly. The rest of the devices go OFFLINE, and will not receive traffic for approximately 3 minutes. During this time, the new client-side scripts and keys are synchronized and prepared. After about 3 minutes, all units should return to the ONLINE (Active) state, and the units should be in sync.

Supported ICAP servers

For BIG-IP version 11.6.0, F5 Networks tested the anti-virus feature on the following ICAP servers: McAfee®, Trend Micro™, Symantec™, and Kaspersky. The following table displays which version of each anti-virus vendor was tested, and the value of the virus_header_name variable that needs to be adjusted in ASM for each tool. (You can set the virus_header_name variable: Security > Options > Application Security > Advanced Configuration > System Variables .)

Anti-Virus Vendor Anti-Virus Version Value of virus_header_name
McAfee® VirusScan Enterprise 7.0 X-Infection-Found, X-Virus-Name
Trend Micro™ InterScan™ Web Security 5.0.1013 X-Virus-ID
Symantec™ Protection Engine 7.0.2.4 X-Violations-Found
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 5.5 X-Virus-ID

Contacting F5 Networks

Phone: (206) 272-6888
Fax: (206) 272-6802
Web: http://support.f5.com
Email: support@f5.com

For additional information, please visit http://www.f5.com.

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