The F5 BIG-IP appliance providing user access control intermediary services must implement attribute- and content-based inspection of the source, destination, headers, and/or content of the communications traffic.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-266144	F5BI-AP-300013	SV-266144r1024371_rule		High

Description

Information flow control regulates where information is allowed to travel within a network. The flow of all network traffic must be monitored and controlled so it does not introduce any unacceptable risk to the network infrastructure or data. Information flow control policies and enforcement mechanisms are commonly employed by organizations to control the flow of information between designated sources and destinations (e.g., networks, individuals, devices) within information systems. Examples of information flow control restrictions include keeping export controlled information from being transmitted in the clear to the internet or blocking information marked as classified but is being transported to an unapproved destination. ALGs enforce approved authorizations by employing security policy and/or rules that restrict information system services, provide packet filtering capability based on header or protocol information and/or message filtering capability based on data content (e.g., implementing key word searches or using document characteristics). Satisfies: SRG-NET-000018-ALG-000017, SRG-NET-000019-ALG-000018

STIG	Date
F5 BIG-IP TMOS ALG Security Technical Implementation Guide	2025-06-09

Details

Check Text (C-70068r1023678_chk)

From the BIG-IP GUI:
1. Security.
2. Network Firewall.
3. Active Rules.
4. Verify "Policy Type" is set to "Enforced".
5. Inspect the different "Context" choices and verify rules are configured to enforce approved authorizations for controlling the flow of information within the network.

If the BIG-IP appliance is not configured to enforce approved authorizations for controlling the flow of information within the network based on attribute- and content-based inspection of the source, destination, headers, and/or content of the communications traffic, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-69971r1023679_fix)

From the BIG-IP GUI:
1. Security.
2. Network Firewall.
3. Policies.
4. Create and/or edit firewall policies that are applied to the Context needed to enforce approved authorizations for controlling the flow of information within the network.