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Fencer Vulns
critical 9.8

CVE-2021-22986 kev+ ransomware in the critical feed json

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…

published 2021-03-31 5 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2021-10104

cvss
9.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Exploited
added 2021-11-03, used in ransomware
epss
99.9%
EPSS 99.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 99.9%
public exploits
2
Metasploit, Exploit-DB, plus a Nuclei check

Summary

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.

Patch / fix

cisa required action Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  • f5 big-ip_access_policy_manager 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_advanced_firewall_manager 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_advanced_web_application_firewall 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_analytics 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_application_acceleration_manager 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_application_security_manager 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_ddos_hybrid_defender 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_domain_name_system 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_fraud_protection_service 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_global_traffic_manager 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_link_controller 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_local_traffic_manager 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-ip_policy_enforcement_manager 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1
  • f5 big-iq_centralized_management 6.1.0, 7.0.0.2, 7.1.0.3
  • f5 ssl_orchestrator 12.1.5.3, 13.1.3.6, 14.1.4, 15.1.2.1, 16.0.1.1

Timeline

  1. First public exploit (Metasploit exploit/linux/http/f5_icontrol_rest_ssrf_rce)
  2. Published
  3. Added to CISA KEV
  4. CISA patch deadline
  5. CISA SSVC: exploitation active

Known exploited

Added
5 y ago
Patch by
2021-11-17 (4 y ago)
Ransomware
Known to be used in ransomware campaigns
Required action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Vendor, product
F5, BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Centralized Management
CISA name
F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Centralized Management iControl REST Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Ransomware

Groups reported to have exploited it in intrusions.

  • LockBit ransomware gang

reported by cisa.gov

Ransomware Vulnerability Matrix by BushidoUK (github.com/BushidoUK/Ransomware-Vulnerability-Matrix), reformatted per CVE. CC BY 4.0

ATT&CK techniques

How it is exploited and what it leads to, in MITRE ATT&CK terms.

  • T1133 External Remote Services exploitation
  • T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application exploitation
  • T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter primary impact
  • T1090 Proxy primary impact
  • T1485 Data Destruction secondary impact

kev release 2025-07-28, att&ck v16.1. KEV to ATT&CK mappings by the MITRE Center for Threat-Informed Defense (Mappings Explorer, Apache-2.0). © 2026 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation. Terms of use

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
Active, exploited in the wild
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total
Assessed
21 mo ago

Exploit prediction

99.90% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99.9% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

  • Metasploit exploit/linux/http/f5_icontrol_rest_ssrf_rce F5 iControl REST Unauthenticated SSRF Token Generation RCE metasploit exploit, excellent rank, 2021-03-10
  • EDB-49738 F5 BIG-IP 16.0.x - iControl REST Remote Code Execution (Unauthenticated) webapps, 2021-04-02
  • Nuclei template F5 iControl REST - Remote Command Execution nuclei detection template
  • packetstormsecurity.com http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162059/F5-iControl-Server-Side-Request-Forgery-Remote-Command-Execution.html referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • packetstormsecurity.com http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162066/F5-BIG-IP-16.0.x-Remote-Code-Execution.html referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CISA ADP 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 2.0 10.0 AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Affected products

  • n/a BIG-IP; BIG-IQ

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-918 Server-Side Request Forgery

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.