{"id":"CVE-2021-22986","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2021-22986"],"related":[],"title":"F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Centralized Management: F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Centralized Management iControl REST Remote Code Execution Vulnerability","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.","summary":"F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Centralized Management have a remote code execution flaw in the iControl REST interface. An unauthenticated attacker with network access can run system commands, create or delete files, and disable services.","severity":"critical","cvss":10.0,"epss":0.99898,"exploited":true,"exploited_at":"2021-11-03T00:00:00+00:00","products":[{"name":"F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Centralized Management","fixed":[],"affected":"","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":["vendor"],"tags":["big-ip","big-iq","exploited","f5","infrastructure","network-appliance","ransomware"],"not_affected_if":["icontrol-rest-not-exposed","not-running-big-ip","not-running-big-iq"],"how_to_check":null,"fix":"Apply the update per the vendor instructions (F5 advisory referenced by CISA KEV); the specific fixed versions are not stated in the sources.","status":"open","published_at":"2021-03-31T15:15:15+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:53+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-23T21:33:43+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.8,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-23T21:33:43Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"Apply the update per the vendor instructions (F5 advisory referenced by CISA KEV); the specific fixed versions are not stated in the sources.","reach":"network","impact":"high","summary":"F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Centralized Management have a remote code execution flaw in the iControl REST interface. An unauthenticated attacker with network access can run system commands, create or delete files, and disable services.","category":"infrastructure","who_cares":["f5","big-ip","big-iq","network-appliance"],"confidence":0.8,"needs_auth":"no","worst_case":"Unauthenticated attacker runs system commands on the appliance.","analyst_note":"Find the F5 advisory for CVE-2021-22986 to get affected and fixed versions and the mitigation/check steps; sources list only the KEV and EPSS entries.","how_to_check":"unknown","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["not-running-big-ip","not-running-big-iq","icontrol-rest-not-exposed"],"user_interaction":"no","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"critical"},"cost_usd":0.000488,"input_tokens":2911,"output_tokens":393,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":"queued","analyst_note":"Find the F5 advisory for CVE-2021-22986 to get affected and fixed versions and the mitigation/check steps; sources list only the KEV and EPSS entries.","search":"'-2021':28A,31A '-22986':29A,32A '12.1':116C '12.1.5.3':119C '13.1':111C '13.1.3.6':114C '14.1':107C '14.1.4':110C '15.1':103C '15.1.2.1':106C '16.0':99C '16.0.1.1':102C '7.0.0':129C '7.0.0.2':132C '7.1.0':124C '7.1.0.3':127C 'access':82B 'amd':120C 'and':37A 'applianc':54B 'attack':79B 'big':3A,7A,13A,17A,35A,39A,44B,47B,58B,62B,96C,122C 'big-ip':2A,12A,34A,43B,57B,95C 'big-iq':6A,16A,38A,46B,61B,121C 'central':9A,19A,64B 'centralized':41A 'code':24A,69B 'command':86B,141C 'creat':87B 'cve':27A,30A 'delet':89B 'develop':153C 'disabl':92B 'end':150C 'eosd':154C 'evalu':157C 'execut':25A,70B,142C 'exploit':49B 'f5':1A,11A,33A,50B,56B 'file':90B 'flaw':71B 'icontrol':21A,74B,134C 'infrastructur':51B 'interfac':76B,136C 'ip':4A,14A,36A,45B,59B,97C 'iq':8A,18A,40A,48B,63B,123C 'manag':10A,20A,65B 'management':42A 'network':53B,81B 'network-appli':52B 'note':144C 'ransomwar':55B 'reach':149C 'remot':23A,68B,140C 'rest':22A,75B,135C 'run':84B 'servic':93B 'softwar':145C,152C 'system':85B 'unauthent':78B,139C 'version':98C,146C 'vulner':26A,143C 'x':100C,104C,108C,112C,117C,125C,130C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":null,"tier":null,"verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2021-03-31T15:15:15+00:00","kev":{"dateAdded":"2021-11-03","dueDate":"2021-11-17","requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Known"},"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"nvd@nist.gov","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"kev","external_id":"CVE-2021-22986","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2021-22986","severity":null,"published_at":"2021-11-03T00:00:00+00:00","modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:53+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-25T11:39:18+00:00","note":null},{"source":"epss","external_id":"CVE-2021-22986","url":"https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2021-22986","severity":null,"published_at":null,"modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","note":null},{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2021-22986","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-22986","severity":null,"published_at":"2021-03-31T15:15:15+00:00","modified_at":"2026-06-17T03:38:09+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}