CVE-2021-22205

CRITICALNVD 10.010.0—Trending — 3 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild

10.0

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.

CVSS v3: 10.0
EG Score: 10.0(medium)
EPSS: 100.0%
KEV: ⚠ Exploited

Published

April 23, 2021

Last Modified

October 24, 2025

Advisory Details (4)

Auto-updated May 23, 2026

No patch confirmed yet.

generic

HackerOne

https://hackerone.com/reports/1154542

generic

RCE when removing metadata with ExifTool (#327121) · Issues · GitLab.org / GitLab · GitLab

https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/327121

generic

2021/CVE-2021-22205.json · master · GitLab.org / GitLab CVE assignments · GitLab

https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cves/-/blob/master/2021/CVE-2021-22205.json

generic

Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164768/GitLab-Unauthenticated-Remote-ExifTool-Command-Injection.html

Weakness Classification(2)

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

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 23:01 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 23:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-06 19:22 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 19:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-06 15:43 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 15:43 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-06 12:03 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 12:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-06 08:24 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 08:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-06 04:45 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 04:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-06 01:05 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-06 01:05 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-05 22:43 UTCkev_newly_listed
2026-06-05 21:26 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-05 21:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-05 17:47 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-05 17:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-05 14:08 UTCEG score recompute

Publicly available exploits

(10 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (9 GitHub PoCs) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

GitHub PoCkeven1z/CVE-2021-22205
First seen Jul 20, 2022
CVE-2021-22205 检测脚本,支持getshell和命令执行
Open source ↗
Exploit-DBEDB-50532
First seen Nov 17, 2021
GitLab 13.10.2 - Remote Code Execution (RCE) (Unauthenticated)
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCinspiringz/CVE-2021-22205
First seen Nov 11, 2021
GitLab CE/EE Preauth RCE using ExifTool
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCfaisalfs10x/GitLab-CVE-2021-22205-scanner
First seen Nov 9, 2021
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCc0okB/CVE-2021-22205
First seen Oct 31, 2021
CVE-2021-22205 RCE
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCwhwlsfb/CVE-2021-22205
First seen Oct 30, 2021
CVE-2021-22205 Gitlab 未授权远程代码执行漏洞 EXP, 移除了对djvumake & djvulibre的依赖，可在win平台使用
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCAl1ex/CVE-2021-22205
First seen Oct 29, 2021
CVE-2021-22205& GitLab CE/EE RCE
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCZZ-SOCMAP/CVE-2021-22205
First seen Oct 29, 2021
Gitlab CE/EE RCE 未授权远程代码执行漏洞 POC && EXP CVE-2021-22205
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCXTeam-Wing/CVE-2021-22205
First seen Oct 28, 2021
Pocsuite3 For CVE-2021-22205
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCr0eXpeR/CVE-2021-22205
First seen Oct 28, 2021
CVE-2021-22205 Unauthorized RCE
Open source ↗

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2021-22205?

CVE-2021-22205 is a critical vulnerability published on April 23, 2021. 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.

When was CVE-2021-22205 disclosed?

CVE-2021-22205 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on April 23, 2021, with the most recent update on October 24, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.

Is CVE-2021-22205 actively exploited?

Yes. CISA added CVE-2021-22205 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on November 3, 2021, affecting GitLab Community and Enterprise Editions. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-22205?

CVE-2021-22205 has a CVSS v3 base score of 10.0 (NVD).

Which products are affected by CVE-2021-22205?

CVE-2021-22205 affects GitLab Community and Enterprise Editions. 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-2021-22205?

Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2021-22205, 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-2021-22205

Explore →

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2021-22205?

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CVE-2021-22205

📅 Published

🔄 Last Modified

📋 Advisory Details (4)

HackerOne

RCE when removing metadata with ExifTool (#327121) · Issues · GitLab.org / GitLab · GitLab

2021/CVE-2021-22205.json · master · GitLab.org / GitLab CVE assignments · GitLab

Packet Storm

Weakness Classification(2)

Data Freshness Timeline

Publicly available exploits

❓ Frequently asked(6)

Dependency Blast Radius

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2021-22205?

🔗 Related CVEs(same CWE)

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Published

Last Modified

Advisory Details (4)

Frequently asked(6)

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