CVE-2021-22986

Confirmed PUBLISHED

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...

F5 · BIG-IP; BIG-IQ

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

—

CISA KEV

In CISA KEV

CVSS / EPSS

9.8 Critical EPSS 99.9%

At a Glance

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.

malware nuclei_scanner metasploit cisa ransomware edge

CVE Published: Mar 31, 2021
Exploitation Reported: Nov 03, 2021
CVSS: 9.8 Critical
EPSS: 99.9%

Remote Low complexity No user interaction Unauthenticated

Affected Versions

Vendor	Product	Version	Status
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	Affected
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	Affected

CVE References

support.f5.com/csp/article/K03009991 support.f5.com · CVE Record https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K03009991
packetstormsecurity.com/files/162059/F5-iControl-Server-Side-Request... packetstormsecurity.com · CVE Record http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162059/F5-iControl-Server-Side-R...
packetstormsecurity.com/files/162066/F5-BIG-IP-16.0.x-Remote-Code-Ex... packetstormsecurity.com · CVE Record http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162066/F5-BIG-IP-16.0.x-Remote-C...

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	2026-05-29 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-2021-22986.yaml	Apr 25, 2025
Metasploit	https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/http/f5_icontrol_rest_ssrf_rce.rb	Apr 28, 2025

CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 9.8 Critical

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

CVSS v2.0 10.0 High

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

Exploitation Status

Exploited in the wild

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

Used in malware

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

Proof of concept available

Recorded 2021-03-17 05:02:45 UTC · GitHub

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-918

Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

Scanner Integrations

Scanner	Reference	Detected
Metasploit	https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/http/f5_icontrol_rest_ssrf_rce.rb	Apr 28, 2025
Nuclei	https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-22986.yaml	Apr 25, 2025

Potential Proof of Concepts

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

Tas9er/CVE-2021-22986

github · Created 2021-03-29 05:56:21 UTC · 13 stars

Code By:Tas9er / F5 BIG-IP 远程命令执行漏洞

ZephrFish/CVE-2021-22986_Check

github · Created 2021-03-23 02:04:39 UTC · 3 stars

CVE-2021-22986 Checker Script in Python3

Al1ex/CVE-2021-22986

github · Created 2021-03-22 07:13:50 UTC · 90 stars

CVE-2021-22986 & F5 BIG-IP RCE

microvorld/CVE-2021-22986

github · Created 2021-03-22 02:46:33 UTC · 0 stars

F5 BIG-IP/BIG-IQ iControl Rest API SSRF to RCE

dorkerdevil/CVE-2021-22986-Poc

github · Created 2021-03-17 05:02:45 UTC · 51 stars

This is a Poc for BIGIP iControl unauth RCE

F5 iControl REST - Remote Command Execution

nuclei · Created Unknown

f5_icontrol_rest_ssrf_rce

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2021-22986

Timeline

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

29 May 2026 00:00 UTC about 2 months ago

29 May 2026 00:00 UTC · about 2 months ago

KEV confirmed by The Shadowserver

Exploitation attested by an external source
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
3 Nov 2021 00:00 UTC over 4 years ago

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

First public exploitation report

Exploit observed in malware
31 Mar 2021 14:04 UTC over 5 years ago

31 Mar 2021 14:04 UTC · over 5 years ago

CVE published

Vulnerability disclosed publicly
17 Mar 2021 05:02 UTC over 5 years ago

17 Mar 2021 05:02 UTC · over 5 years ago

Public PoC available

Public proof-of-concept code published
6 Jan 2021 00:00 UTC over 5 years ago

6 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-2021-22986

{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2021-22986",
  "title": "On BIG-IP versions 16.0.x before 16.0.1.1, 15.1.x before 15.1.2.1, 14.1.x bef...",
  "affected_vendor": "F5",
  "affected_product": "BIG-IP; BIG-IQ",
  "affected_versions": [
    { "vendor": "...", "product": "...", "status": "affected", "display_label": "..." }
  ],
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 9.8,
  "epss_score": 0.99898,
  "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-2021-22986

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

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