CVE-2021-22986
CRITICAL
9.8
CVSS Score
Published: March 31, 2021 at 02:04 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 03:38 AM UTC
16 products affected across 1 vendorBig IP Access Policy ManagerBig IP Application Security ManagerBig IP Advanced Firewall Manager
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Severity
CRITICAL9.8
Exploitation
CISA KEV
Exploit prediction
EPSS 100%
SSVC
Active
Actively Exploited
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog
EPSS Score99.9%
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) estimates a 99.9% chance this CVE is exploited in the wild within the next 30 days — higher than 100% of all CVEs. It complements CVSS: a high EPSS on a mid-severity CVE can still be urgent.
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.
Required Action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Ransomware Use
Known
Added to KEV
Nov 3, 2021
Remediation Due
Nov 17, 2021
1809 days overdue
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
Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.
12.1.0 ≤ v < 12.1.5.313.1.0 ≤ v < 13.1.3.614.1.0 ≤ v < 14.1.415.1.0 ≤ v < 15.1.2.116.0.0 ≤ v < 16.0.1.1
Affected range stops below 12.1.5.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 13.1.3.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 14.1.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 15.1.2.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 16.0.1.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
12.1.0 ≤ v < 12.1.5.313.1.0 ≤ v < 13.1.3.614.1.0 ≤ v < 14.1.415.1.0 ≤ v < 15.1.2.116.0.0 ≤ v < 16.0.1.1
Affected range stops below 12.1.5.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 13.1.3.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 14.1.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 15.1.2.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 16.0.1.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
12.1.0 ≤ v < 12.1.5.313.1.0 ≤ v < 13.1.3.614.1.0 ≤ v < 14.1.415.1.0 ≤ v < 15.1.2.116.0.0 ≤ v < 16.0.1.1
Affected range stops below 12.1.5.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 13.1.3.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 14.1.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 15.1.2.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 16.0.1.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
12.1.0 ≤ v < 12.1.5.313.1.0 ≤ v < 13.1.3.614.1.0 ≤ v < 14.1.415.1.0 ≤ v < 15.1.2.116.0.0 ≤ v < 16.0.1.1
Affected range stops below 12.1.5.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 13.1.3.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 14.1.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 15.1.2.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 16.0.1.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
12.1.0 ≤ v < 12.1.5.313.1.0 ≤ v < 13.1.3.614.1.0 ≤ v < 14.1.415.1.0 ≤ v < 15.1.2.116.0.0 ≤ v < 16.0.1.1
Affected range stops below 12.1.5.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 13.1.3.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 14.1.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 15.1.2.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 16.0.1.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
12.1.0 ≤ v < 12.1.5.313.1.0 ≤ v < 13.1.3.614.1.0 ≤ v < 14.1.415.1.0 ≤ v < 15.1.2.116.0.0 ≤ v < 16.0.1.1
Affected range stops below 12.1.5.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 13.1.3.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 14.1.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 15.1.2.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 16.0.1.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
12.1.0 ≤ v < 12.1.5.313.1.0 ≤ v < 13.1.3.614.1.0 ≤ v < 14.1.415.1.0 ≤ v < 15.1.2.116.0.0 ≤ v < 16.0.1.1
Affected range stops below 12.1.5.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 13.1.3.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 14.1.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 15.1.2.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 16.0.1.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
12.1.0 ≤ v < 12.1.5.313.1.0 ≤ v < 13.1.3.614.1.0 ≤ v < 14.1.415.1.0 ≤ v < 15.1.2.116.0.0 ≤ v < 16.0.1.1
Affected range stops below 12.1.5.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 13.1.3.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 14.1.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 15.1.2.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 16.0.1.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
12.1.0 ≤ v < 12.1.5.313.1.0 ≤ v < 13.1.3.614.1.0 ≤ v < 14.1.415.1.0 ≤ v < 15.1.2.116.0.0 ≤ v < 16.0.1.1
Affected range stops below 12.1.5.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 13.1.3.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 14.1.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 15.1.2.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 16.0.1.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
12.1.0 ≤ v < 12.1.5.313.1.0 ≤ v < 13.1.3.614.1.0 ≤ v < 14.1.415.1.0 ≤ v < 15.1.2.116.0.0 ≤ v < 16.0.1.1
Affected range stops below 12.1.5.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 13.1.3.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 14.1.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 15.1.2.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 16.0.1.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Remediation
No guide yetNo remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:
Patch and advisory references
References (4)
x_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
Source: [email protected]
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162059/F5-iControl-Server-Side-Request-Forgery-Remote-Command-Execution.htmlx_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
Source: [email protected]
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162066/F5-BIG-IP-16.0.x-Remote-Code-Execution.htmlx_refsource_MISCVendor Advisory
Source: [email protected]
https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K03009991US Government Resource
Source: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-22986SSVC — Action Prioritization
SSVCActiveAutomatableTotal impact
SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.
CVSS
9.8CRITICALCISA-ADP
- Attack Vector
- NETWORK
- Complexity
- LOW
- Privileges
- NONE
- User Interaction
- NONE
- Scope
- UNCHANGED
- Confidentiality
- HIGH
- Integrity
- HIGH
- Availability
- HIGH
Vector?
Quick Info
StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-918
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