CVE-2021-22205

Confirmed PUBLISHED

An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 11.9. GitLab was not properly validating image files that were...

GitLab · GitLab

Exploited in the wild Used in malware PoC available

Recommended Action

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

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Confidence

Confirmed

Exploitation Status

Exploited in the wild

Observed in Sensors

Attempts (30d)

—

Unique Attacker IPs

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CISA KEV

In CISA KEV

CVSS / EPSS

10.0 Critical EPSS 99.7%

At a Glance

An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 11.9. GitLab was not properly validating image files that were passed to a file parser which resulted in a remote command execution.

nuclei_scanner metasploit cisa malware

CVE Published: Apr 23, 2021
Exploitation Reported: Nov 03, 2021
CVSS: 10.0 Critical
EPSS: 99.7%

Remote Low complexity No user interaction Unauthenticated

Affected Versions

Vendor	Product	Version	Status
GitLab	GitLab	>=11.9, <13.8.8	Affected
GitLab	GitLab	>=13.9, <13.9.6	Affected
GitLab	GitLab	>=13.10, <13.10.3	Affected

CVE References

hackerone.com/reports/1154542 hackerone.com · CVE Record https://hackerone.com/reports/1154542
gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/327121 gitlab.com · CVE Record https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/327121
gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cves/-/blob/master/2021/CVE-2021-... gitlab.com · CVE Record https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cves/-/blob/master/2021/CVE-2021-22205....
packetstormsecurity.com/files/164768/GitLab-Unauthenticated-Remote-E... packetstormsecurity.com · CVE Record http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164768/GitLab-Unauthenticated-Re...
packetstormsecurity.com/files/164994/GitLab-13.10.2-Remote-Code-Exec... packetstormsecurity.com · CVE Record http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164994/GitLab-13.10.2-Remote-Cod...

Recommended Actions

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Check enrichment artifacts for scanner coverage and available PoCs before rolling remediation validation.
Use the Pro API to automate enrichment, telemetry, and workflow delivery for VM, SOC, and CTI pipelines.

Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources

Catalogues that list this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability.

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEVIntel Pro API.

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Source	Added
CISA First	2021-11-03 00:00 UTC
The Shadowserver	2026-07-13 00:00 UTC

Scanner Artifacts

Nuclei and Metasploit references linked to this CVE.

Scanner	Reference	Detected
Nuclei	https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-22205.yaml	Apr 25, 2025
Metasploit	https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/multi/http/gitlab_exif_rce.rb	Apr 28, 2025

CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 10.0 Critical

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2.0 7.5 High

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Exploitation Status

Exploited in the wild

Recorded 2021-11-03 00:00:00 UTC · CISA

Used in malware

Recorded 2026-06-02 14:08:28 UTC · CISA

Proof of concept available

Recorded 2021-06-05 15:42:16 UTC · GitHub

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-94

Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

Scanner Integrations

Scanner	Reference	Detected
Metasploit	https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/multi/http/gitlab_exif_rce.rb	Apr 28, 2025
Nuclei	https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-22205.yaml	Apr 25, 2025

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

hhhotdrink/CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2023-02-27 07:42:12 UTC · 0 stars

keven1z/CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2022-07-20 16:57:57 UTC · 12 stars

CVE-2021-22205 检测脚本,支持getshell和命令执行

honypot/CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2022-03-14 04:09:18 UTC · 0 stars

pizza-power/Golang-CVE-2021-22205-POC

github · Created 2021-11-25 12:47:27 UTC · 3 stars

A CVE-2021-22205 Gitlab RCE POC written in Golang

inspiringz/CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2021-11-11 04:34:07 UTC · 224 stars

GitLab CE/EE Preauth RCE using ExifTool

faisalfs10x/GitLab-CVE-2021-22205-scanner

github · Created 2021-11-09 18:19:43 UTC · 6 stars

runsel/GitLab-CVE-2021-22205-

github · Created 2021-11-05 16:56:06 UTC · 3 stars

Exploit for GitLab CVE-2021-22205 Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution

shang159/CVE-2021-22205-getshell

github · Created 2021-11-01 06:06:04 UTC · 3 stars

CVE-2021-22205-getshell

c0okB/CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2021-10-31 14:34:51 UTC · 13 stars

CVE-2021-22205 RCE

Seals6/CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2021-10-31 04:15:30 UTC · 35 stars

CVE-2021-22205未授权漏洞批量检测与利用工具

findneo/GitLab-preauth-RCE_CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2021-10-30 11:54:29 UTC · 3 stars

PoC in single line bash

whwlsfb/CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2021-10-30 02:56:34 UTC · 22 stars

CVE-2021-22205 Gitlab 未授权远程代码执行漏洞 EXP, 移除了对djvumake & djvulibre的依赖，可在win平台使用

Al1ex/CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2021-10-29 04:30:45 UTC · 273 stars

CVE-2021-22205& GitLab CE/EE RCE

ZZ-SOCMAP/CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2021-10-29 04:15:00 UTC · 7 stars

Gitlab CE/EE RCE 未授权远程代码执行漏洞 POC && EXP CVE-2021-22205

r0eXpeR/CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2021-10-28 14:02:51 UTC · 68 stars

CVE-2021-22205 Unauthorized RCE

XTeam-Wing/CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2021-10-28 06:29:37 UTC · 86 stars

Pocsuite3 For CVE-2021-22205

mr-r3bot/Gitlab-CVE-2021-22205

github · Created 2021-06-05 15:42:16 UTC · 182 stars

GitLab CE/EE - Remote Code Execution

nuclei · Created Unknown

Timeline

Key exploitation, disclosure, scanner coverage, and KEV attestation events for this CVE.

13 Jul 2026 00:00 UTC 10 days ago

13 Jul 2026 00:00 UTC · 10 days ago

KEV confirmed by The Shadowserver

Exploitation attested by an external source
2 Jun 2026 14:08 UTC about 2 months ago

2 Jun 2026 14:08 UTC · about 2 months ago

First public exploitation report

Exploit observed in malware
28 Apr 2025 15:02 UTC about 1 year ago

28 Apr 2025 15:02 UTC · about 1 year ago

Metasploit module available

Exploit module available
25 Apr 2025 00:00 UTC about 1 year ago

25 Apr 2025 00:00 UTC · about 1 year ago

Nuclei template available

Scanner coverage available
3 Nov 2021 00:00 UTC over 4 years ago

3 Nov 2021 00:00 UTC · over 4 years ago

Added to CISA KEV

Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
5 Jun 2021 15:42 UTC about 5 years ago

5 Jun 2021 15:42 UTC · about 5 years ago

Public PoC available

Public proof-of-concept code published
23 Apr 2021 17:39 UTC about 5 years ago

23 Apr 2021 17:39 UTC · about 5 years ago

CVE published

Vulnerability disclosed publicly
5 Jan 2021 00:00 UTC over 5 years ago

5 Jan 2021 00:00 UTC · over 5 years ago

CVE ID reserved

Identifier reserved by the CNA

Automate This Intelligence with the Pro API

Confidence scoring, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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Pro API Example

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2021-22205

{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2021-22205",
  "title": "An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting ...",
  "affected_vendor": "GitLab",
  "affected_product": "GitLab",
  "affected_versions": [
    { "vendor": "...", "product": "...", "status": "affected", "display_label": "..." }
  ],
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 10.0,
  "epss_score": 0.99731,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "...": "Pro API fields" },
  "proof_of_concepts": [ "..." ],
  "scanner_integrations": [ "..." ]
}

The free JSON API returns basic KEV fields only. Confidence, telemetry, and artifact enrichment require Pro API access.

CVE-2021-22205

At a Glance

Affected Versions

CVE References

Recommended Actions

Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources

Scanner Artifacts

Virtual Patch

CVSS Scores

Exploitation Status

Weaknesses (CWE)

Scanner Integrations

Potential Proof of Concepts

Timeline

Automate This Intelligence with the Pro API