CVE-2021-22205: GitLab Community and Enterprise Editions Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 3 Nov 2021, 194 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 99.7%
EPSS score, percentile 100 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA
- What should I do?
CISA deadline 17 Nov 2021. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
- Which versions are affected?
Affected
- >=11.9, <13.8.8
- >=13.9, <13.9.6
- >=13.10, <13.10.3
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CISA due date for this action: 17 November 2021.
Advisories and patches
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
Affected products and versions
As listed in the CVE record.
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | >=11.9, <13.8.8 |
| Affected | >=13.9, <13.9.6 |
| Affected | >=13.10, <13.10.3 |
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
About this vulnerability
GitHub Community and Enterprise Editions that utilize the ability to upload images through GitLab Workhorse are vulnerable to remote code execution. Workhorse passes image file extensions through ExifTool, which improperly validates the image files.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA added CVE-2021-22205 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 3 Nov 2021.
- CISA marks it as known to be used in ransomware campaigns.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 17 Nov 2021.
- The CVE record was published on 23 Apr 2021, 194 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 10.0 (Critical), given by its CNA.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 99.7% (percentile 100), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable yes, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Description
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.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Weakness
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 23 Apr 2021 | CVE record published |
| 3 Nov 2021 | Added to CISA KEV |
| 17 Nov 2021 | CISA due date for the required action |
| 6 Aug 2026 | CVE record last updated |
References
More exploited GitLab vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-85706: GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition Path Traversal Vulnerability
- CVE-2021-22175: GitLab Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) Vulnerability
- CVE-2021-39935: GitLab Community and Enterprise Editions Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) Vulnerability
- CVE-2023-7028: GitLab Community and Enterprise Editions Improper Access Control Vulnerability