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CVE-2021-22205· NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitLab

An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 11.9.

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.

CriticalCVSS 10.0 · v3.1KEVWeaponized No fix recorded
Published
Apr 23, 2021
Updated
Aug 6, 2026
EPSS
99.7% · 100th percentile
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Action score

100

Now

Patch today or shut off access.

CVSS
40 / 40 · 10.0 / 10
CISA KEV
30 / 30 · Listed
EPSS
30 / 30 · 99.7%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
active
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
10.0
CNA · GitLab
10.0
agree

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Actively exploited in the wild

CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Nov 3, 2021. That signals real attacks, not theory.

Remediation deadline for government agencies: Nov 17, 2021.

Known to be used in ransomware campaigns.

Affected systems

VendorProduct
gitlabgitlab

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • gitlab gitlab11.9.0 and later · before 13.8.8
  • gitlab gitlab13.9.0 and later · before 13.9.6
  • gitlab gitlab13.10.0 and later · before 13.10.3

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitLab). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • GitLab GitLab

    • >=11.9, <13.8.8, >=13.9, <13.9.6, >=13.10, <13.10.3affected

Same product

gitlab: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-85706Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in GitLabKEV
    97Now
  • CVE-2023-7028Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password in GitLabKEV
    97Now
  • CVE-2021-22175When requests to the internal network for webhooks are enabled, a server-side request forgery vulnerability in GitLab affecting all versionsKEV
    85Now
  • CVE-2021-39935An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 10.5 before 14.3.6, all versions starting from 14.4 beforeKEV
    71This week
  • CVE-2022-2992A vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 11.10 prior to 15.1.6, 15.2 to 15.2.4, 15.3 to 15.3.2 allows an authenticated us
    65This week
  • CVE-2022-2884A vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 11.3.4 prior to 15.1.5, 15.2 to 15.2.3, 15.3 to 15.3 to 15.3.1 allows an an auth
    62This week

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

Weaponized

A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.

Evidence

  • Metasploit module ×1
  • Exploit-DB entry ×1
  • Nuclei detection template ×2
  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×26

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Exploit-DB entrywebapps2021-11-17
Metasploit moduleexploit/multi/http/gitlab_exif_rceGitLab Unauthenticated Remote ExifTool Command Injectionexploit2021-04-14
Nuclei detection templateNuclei template CVE-2021-22205 —
Nuclei detection templateNuclei template gitlab-rce —
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:1812021-06-05
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:862021-10-28
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:692021-10-28
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:72021-10-29
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:2872021-10-29
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:232021-10-30
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:22021-10-30
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:132021-10-31

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Metasploit-10 d
  2. Published
  3. First PoC+42 d
  4. CISA KEV+193 d
  5. TodaySep 29, 2026+1985 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted

Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-94 · Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

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Change log

No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records