CVE-2021-22986 — BIG-IP; BIG-IQ Vulnerability

What is CVE-2021-22986?

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.

The record classifies CVE-2021-22986 under weakness class CWE-918. Its CVSS v3 base vector states that the flaw is reachable remotely over the network, needs no prior authentication, needs no user interaction, and has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability. 1 affected-product entry is recorded, across 1 vendor, listed below. The identifier was first published 2025 days ago.

Severity and exploitation probability

CVSS v3.1 base score: 9.8 — CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS (FIRST): 99.8% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99.9% of all scored CVEs
CISA KEV: Listed since 2021-11-03, federal remediation deadline 2021-11-17 — used in known ransomware campaigns
Threadlinqs priority: 10/10 — CISA lists it as used in ransomware, which Threadlinqs scores at the maximum
Published: 2021-03-31, last modified 2025-10-21

Is CVE-2021-22986 being exploited?

CISA added CVE-2021-22986 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03, which means the agency holds evidence of exploitation in the wild; US federal civilian agencies had to remediate it by 2021-11-17 under BOD 22-01. CISA flags the vulnerability as one used in known ransomware campaigns. Weaponised exploit code for CVE-2021-22986 is publicly available. 11 public proof-of-concept repositories are tracked for this identifier. A ProjectDiscovery Nuclei detection template exists (http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-22986.yaml). It currently carries a trending score of 50 in the Threadlinqs vulnerability feed.

Affected products and versions

(vendor unspecified): BIG-IP; BIG-IQ

How to fix CVE-2021-22986

Because CVE-2021-22986 is KEV-listed, US federal civilian agencies were required to apply the vendor fix, or stop using the product, by 2021-11-17. No vendor patch reference has been recorded for CVE-2021-22986 in the tracked sources. Follow the references below for a fix, and treat the products listed above as exposed until the vendor states otherwise.

Threat activity tracking CVE-2021-22986

1 tracked threat in the Threadlinqs corpus references CVE-2021-22986, either in the campaign’s CVE list or as an indicator on the campaign record.

LockBit 5.0 Ransomware Extortion Claim Against US Bank (U.S. Bancorp) — HIGH · 2026-08-21

Sources

Enriched from CVE.org, FIRST EPSS, CISA KEV, GitHub Security Advisories, public proof-of-concept repositories, ProjectDiscovery Nuclei. Last verified by Threadlinqs on 2026-10-10.

CVE-2021-22986 — BIG-IP; BIG-IQ