CVE-2021-22204

MEDIUMNVD 6.89.0▲Trending — 5 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild

6.8

Improper neutralization of user data in the DjVu file format in ExifTool versions 7.44 and up allows arbitrary code execution when parsing the malicious image

CVSS v3: 6.8
EG Score: 9.0(high)
EPSS: 99.8%
KEV: ⚠ Exploited

Published

April 23, 2021

Last Modified

November 3, 2025

References (29)

Patch Availability(2)

Vendor / Ecosystem	Fixed in / Patch	Released	Source
ubuntu	libimage-exiftool-perl (12.16+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1) @ hirsute	2026-06-06	ubuntu
ubuntu	libimage-exiftool-perl (10.10-1ubuntu0.1~esm1) @ xenial	2026-06-06	ubuntu

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Weakness Classification(2)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

All Vendor Advisories

(2)

Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 20× in last 7d / 20× in last 30d)

Every time one of our enrichment pipelines (NVD, MITRE cvelistV5, EPSS, CISA KEV, GHSA, OSV, vendor advisories) ran against this CVE. Most recent first.

2026-06-06 21:48 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 21:48 UTCVendor advisory
2026-06-06 21:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-06 17:30 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 17:30 UTCVendor advisory
2026-06-06 17:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-06 13:46 UTCepss_batch
2026-06-06 13:46 UTCepss_batch
2026-06-06 13:46 UTCepss_batch
2026-06-06 13:13 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 13:13 UTCVendor advisory
2026-06-06 13:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-06 08:55 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 08:55 UTCVendor advisory
2026-06-06 08:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-06 04:37 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 04:37 UTCVendor advisory
2026-06-06 04:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-06 00:19 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 00:19 UTCVendor advisory

Publicly available exploits

(10 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (8 GitHub PoCs) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

GitHub PoCAkash7350/CVE-2021-22204
First seen May 14, 2023
Open source ↗
Exploit-DBEDB-50911
First seen May 11, 2022
ExifTool 12.23 - Arbitrary Code Execution
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCUNICORDev/exploit-CVE-2021-22204
First seen Apr 16, 2022
Exploit for CVE-2021-22204 (ExifTool) - Arbitrary Code Execution
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCtrganda/CVE-2021-22204
First seen Dec 29, 2021
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCph-arm/CVE-2021-22204-Gitlab
First seen Nov 4, 2021
Modification of gitlab exploit anything under 13.10
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCPenTestical/CVE-2021-22204
First seen Aug 2, 2021
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCAssassinUKG/CVE-2021-22204
First seen Aug 2, 2021
Open source ↗
Metasploitexploit/unix/fileformat/exiftool_djvu_ant_perl_injection✓ verified
First seen May 24, 2021
ExifTool DjVu ANT Perl injection
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCbilkoh/POC-CVE-2021-22204
First seen May 21, 2021
POC for exiftool vuln (CVE-2021-22204).
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCse162xg/CVE-2021-22204
First seen May 12, 2021
exiftool arbitrary code execution vulnerability
Open source ↗

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2021-22204?

CVE-2021-22204 is a medium vulnerability published on April 23, 2021. Improper neutralization of user data in the DjVu file format in ExifTool versions 7.44 and up allows arbitrary code execution when parsing the malicious image

When was CVE-2021-22204 disclosed?

CVE-2021-22204 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on April 23, 2021, with the most recent update on November 3, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.

Is CVE-2021-22204 actively exploited?

Yes. CISA added CVE-2021-22204 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on November 17, 2021, affecting Perl Exiftool. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-22204?

CVE-2021-22204 has a CVSS v3 base score of 6.8 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0.

Which products are affected by CVE-2021-22204?

CVE-2021-22204 affects Perl Exiftool. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.

How do I remediate CVE-2021-22204?

Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2021-22204, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2021-22204

Explore →

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2021-22204?

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CVE-2021-22204

Published

Last Modified

References (29)

Patch Availability(2)

Weakness Classification(2)

All Vendor Advisories

Data Freshness Timeline

Publicly available exploits

Frequently asked(6)

Dependency Blast Radius

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2021-22204?

Same vendor

Same CWE

CVE-2021-22204

📅 Published

🔄 Last Modified

🔗 References (29)

Patch Availability(2)

Weakness Classification(2)

All Vendor Advisories

Data Freshness Timeline

Publicly available exploits

❓ Frequently asked(6)

Dependency Blast Radius

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2021-22204?

🔗 Related CVEs(same vendor + same CWE)

Same vendor

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Published

Last Modified

References (29)

Frequently asked(6)

Related CVEs(same vendor + same CWE)