Vulnerability report

Exploited in the wild Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2021-22204

ExifTool

ExifTool · >=7.44, <12.24

Watch CVE-2021-22204 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 6.8 · Medium
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
100.0%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2021-22204 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting ExifTool. Improper neutralization of user data in the DjVu file format in ExifTool versions 7.44 and up allows arbitrary code execution when parsing the...

Is it exploited?

Yes. Previdian tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed. Listed in CISA KEV.

Who is affected?

ExifTool >=7.44, <12.24.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

ExifTool

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

ExifTool Affected
ExifTool
>=7.44, <12.24
View vendor advisory (opens in new tab)
Published
23 Apr 2021
Exploitation Reported
17 Nov 2021
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None

Tags

metasploit cisa

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Why Previdian marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

CISA

Recorded 17 Nov 2021

A trusted third party reported exploitation.

Proof of concept available

GitHub

Recorded 11 May 2021

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access
Source Added
CISA First 2021-11-17 00:00 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
User-Agents
Callback hosts
0
0
0

Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Metasploit https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/multi/http/gitlab_exif_rce.rb 28 Apr 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

6.8 Medium

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L

EPSS

100.0%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

Weaknesses

Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') CWE-94

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

AssassinUKG/CVE-2021-22204

github · Created 2021-08-02 18:56:16 UTC · 27 stars · AI assessment 85%

convisolabs/CVE-2021-22204-exiftool

github · Created 2021-05-11 18:45:07 UTC · 93 stars · AI assessment 90%

Python exploit for the CVE-2021-22204 vulnerability in Exiftool

gitlab_exif_rce

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2021-22204

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

  1. 15:02 UTC

    Metasploit module available

    Exploit module available

  2. 00:00 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  3. 18:45 UTC

    Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  4. 17:22 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  5. 00:00 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2021-22204

Sample API response 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2021-22204",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 6.8,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.99981,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}