CVEs / CVE-2021-22986
CVE-2021-22986: F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Centralized Management iControl REST Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- Known exploited in the CISA KEV catalog since 3 Nov 2021
- critical 9.8 CVSS 3.1 (NVD)
- EPSS 99.8% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99% of CVEs (30 Oct 2026)
- Last changed at its sources
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Summary
F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Centralized Management contain a remote code execution vulnerability in the iControl REST interface that allows unauthenticated attackers with network access to execute system commands, create or delete files, and disable services.
Description
On BIG-IP versions 16.0.x before 16.0.1.1, 15.1.x before 15.1.2.1, 14.1.x before 14.1.4, 13.1.x before 13.1.3.6, and 12.1.x before 12.1.5.3 amd BIG-IQ 7.1.0.x before 7.1.0.3 and 7.0.0.x before 7.0.0.2, the iControl REST interface has an unauthenticated remote command execution vulnerability. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Software Development (EoSD) are not evaluated.
Affected and fixed versions
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| n/a BIG-IP; BIG-IQ | BIG-IP 16.0.x before 16.0.1.1, 15.1.x before 15.1.2.1, 14.1.x before 14.1.4, 13.1.x before 13.1.3.6, 12.1.x before 12.1.5.3 | — |
| n/a BIG-IP; BIG-IQ | BIG-IQ 7.1.0.x before 7.1.0.3, 7.0.0.x before 7.0.0.2 | — |
Exploitation
| In CISA KEV since | 3 Nov 2021 |
|---|---|
| Due date for US federal agencies | 17 Nov 2021 |
| Used in ransomware campaigns | Known |
| Required action | Apply updates per vendor instructions. |
Severity
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.8 criticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HScored by NVD |
|---|---|
| Weakness | CWE-918 |
References
- CVE-2021-22986 on NVD
- CVE-2021-22986 in the CISA KEV catalog
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162059/F5-iControl-Server-Side-Request-Forgery-Remote-Command-Execution.html Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162066/F5-BIG-IP-16.0.x-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K03009991 Vendor Advisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-22986 US Government Resource
Sources
Exploitation status from the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. EPSS scores from FIRST. Descriptions, severity and references from the National Vulnerability Database. Open-source package versions from OSV (CC-BY 4.0). Text is shown as each source states it; Stackurity does not edit it. Check the vendor's advisory before acting.
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.