CVE-2021-22204

ExifTool Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Severity Score

7.8

*CVSS v3.1

Exploit Likelihood

*EPSS

Affected Versions

*CPE

Public Exploits

*Multiple Sources

Exploited in Wild

Yes

*KEV

Decision

Attend

*SSVC

Descriptions

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

Una neutralización inapropiada de los datos del usuario en el formato de archivo DjVu en ExifTool versiones 7.44 y posteriores, permite una ejecución de código arbitrario cuando se analiza la imagen maliciosa

A vulnerability was discovered in libimage-exiftool-perl, a library and program to read and write meta information in multimedia files, which may result in execution of arbitrary code if a malformed DjVu file is processed.

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

*Credits: Thanks vakzz for reporting this vulnerability through the GitLab HackerOne bug bounty program who then reported it to the ExifTool maintainer

CVSS Scores

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

Low

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Medium

Authentication

None

Confidentiality

Partial

Integrity

Partial

Availability

Partial

* Common Vulnerability Scoring System

SSVC

Decision:Attend

Exploitation

Active

Automatable

Tech. Impact

Partial

* Organization's Worst-case Scenario

Timeline

2021-01-05 CVE Reserved
2021-04-23 CVE Published
2021-05-12 First Exploit
2021-11-17 Exploited in Wild
2021-12-01 KEV Due Date
2025-02-06 CVE Updated
2025-06-28 EPSS Updated

CWE

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

CAPEC

References (34)

URL	Tag	Source
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/09/1	Mailing List
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/10/5	Mailing List
https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cves/-/blob/master/2021/CVE-2021-22204.json	Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/05/msg00018.html	Mailing List

URL	Date	SRC
https://packetstorm.news/files/id/162558	2021-05-12
https://packetstorm.news/files/id/164768	2021-11-04
https://packetstorm.news/files/id/164994	2021-11-17
https://packetstorm.news/files/id/167038	2022-05-11
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/50911	2022-05-11
https://github.com/convisolabs/CVE-2021-22204-exiftool	2021-05-20
https://github.com/AssassinUKG/CVE-2021-22204	2021-10-26
https://github.com/se162xg/CVE-2021-22204	2021-05-12
https://github.com/UNICORDev/exploit-CVE-2021-22204	2022-06-07
https://github.com/bilkoh/POC-CVE-2021-22204	2021-05-21
https://github.com/mr-tuhin/CVE-2021-22204-exiftool	2022-02-21
https://github.com/Akash7350/CVE-2021-22204	2023-05-14
https://github.com/PenTestical/CVE-2021-22204	2021-08-02
https://github.com/0xBruno/CVE-2021-22204	2022-01-30
https://github.com/trganda/CVE-2021-22204	2021-12-29
https://github.com/ph-arm/CVE-2021-22204-Gitlab	2021-11-04
https://github.com/cc3305/CVE-2021-22204	2024-06-19
https://github.com/Asaad27/CVE-2021-22204-RSE	2021-12-08
https://github.com/battleofthebots/dejavu	2023-10-16
https://github.com/sameep0/CVE-2021-22204	2025-02-25
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162558/ExifTool-DjVu-ANT-Perl-Injection.html	2025-02-06
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164768/GitLab-Unauthenticated-Remote-ExifTool-Command-Injection.html	2025-02-06
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164994/GitLab-13.10.2-Remote-Code-Execution.html	2025-02-06
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/167038/ExifTool-12.23-Arbitrary-Code-Execution.html	2025-02-06
https://hackerone.com/reports/1154542	2025-02-06

URL	Date	SRC
https://github.com/exiftool/exiftool/commit/cf0f4e7dcd024ca99615bfd1102a841a25dde031#diff-fa0d652d10dbcd246e6b1df16c1e992931d3bb717a7e36157596b76bdadb3800	2024-07-24

URL	Date	SRC
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DDKDLJLBTBBR66OOPXSXCG2PQRM5KCZL	2024-07-24
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/F6UOBPU3LSHAPRRJNISNVXZ5DSUIALLV	2024-07-24
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/U4RF6PJCJ6NQOVJJJF6HN6BORUQVIXY6	2024-07-24
https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4910	2024-07-24

Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions

Vendor		Product				Version		Other		Status
Vendor	Product	Version	Other	Status	<-- -->	Vendor	Product	Version	Other	Status
Exiftool Project Search vendor "Exiftool Project"		Exiftool Search vendor "Exiftool Project" for product "Exiftool"				>= 7.44 < 12.24 Search vendor "Exiftool Project" for product "Exiftool" and version " >= 7.44 < 12.24"		-		Affected
Debian Search vendor "Debian"		Debian Linux Search vendor "Debian" for product "Debian Linux"				9.0 Search vendor "Debian" for product "Debian Linux" and version "9.0"		-		Affected
Debian Search vendor "Debian"		Debian Linux Search vendor "Debian" for product "Debian Linux"				10.0 Search vendor "Debian" for product "Debian Linux" and version "10.0"		-		Affected
Fedoraproject Search vendor "Fedoraproject"		Fedora Search vendor "Fedoraproject" for product "Fedora"				32 Search vendor "Fedoraproject" for product "Fedora" and version "32"		-		Affected
Fedoraproject Search vendor "Fedoraproject"		Fedora Search vendor "Fedoraproject" for product "Fedora"				33 Search vendor "Fedoraproject" for product "Fedora" and version "33"		-		Affected
Fedoraproject Search vendor "Fedoraproject"		Fedora Search vendor "Fedoraproject" for product "Fedora"				34 Search vendor "Fedoraproject" for product "Fedora" and version "34"		-		Affected