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Akkadian Provisioning Manager Engine (PME) Shell Escape via 'vi' editor interface

Not in CISA KEVCVE-2021-31581CWE-269

Not confirmed exploited. 1 of 8 rule sources name it. Our CRS test: not blocked.

Edge rules
1/8
Our test
Not blocked
CVSS
7.9
EPSS
1.2% Top 33%
Posts, 14d
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Published
2021-07-22
The restricted shell provided by Akkadian Provisioning Manager Engine (PME) can be escaped by abusing the 'Edit MySQL Configuration' command. This command launches a standard vi editor interface which can then be escaped. This issue was… More

The restricted shell provided by Akkadian Provisioning Manager Engine (PME) can be escaped by abusing the 'Edit MySQL Configuration' command. This command launches a standard vi editor interface which can then be escaped. This issue was resolved in Akkadian OVA appliance version 3.0 (and later), Akkadian Provisioning Manager 5.0.2 (and later), and Akkadian Appliance Manager 3.3.0.314-4a349e0 (and later).

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Ask about CVE-2021-31581: who's covered, what to patch first, how vendors compare. I cite sources and won't help with attacks.

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Severity, decoded

CVSS 3.1
High · 7.9 / 10

Exploitable with local access, with high privileges and no user interaction, leading to full loss of confidentiality and integrity, and the impact can reach components beyond the vulnerable one.

Needs local accessAdmin login neededNo user actionWorks reliablySpreads beyond the appSerious impact
How the score is built8 metrics
  • Attack vectorAn attacker needs local access, or must trick a user into opening something on the machine.
    Local
  • Attack complexityNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
    Low
  • Privileges requiredThe attacker needs an administrator-level account.
    High
  • User interactionNo one has to click or open anything; the attack works on its own.
    None
  • ScopeThe attack can spread beyond the vulnerable component to other parts of the system.
    Changed
  • Confidentiality impactAn attacker can read all data the affected component holds, or the most sensitive parts of it.
    High
  • Integrity impactAn attacker can change any data or files the affected component protects.
    High
  • Availability impactThe component keeps working normally.
    None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

Public exploits

1 found
0 Metasploit0 Exploit-DB1 Scanner template0 GitHub PoCs

Links are to third-party code: never run it outside an isolated lab.

Timeline

  1. 2021-07-22
    CVE published
    CVE List
  2. 2024-03-12
    F5 ships a rule
    Akkadian Provisioning Manager Information Disclosure
  3. 2026-11-02
    Our test: OWASP Core Rule Set let it through
    paranoia level 1, anomaly threshold 5, default CRS settings
  4. 2026-11-02
    Our test: OWASP Core Rule Set let it through
    paranoia level 2, anomaly threshold 5, default CRS settings

Social

2026-10-21: 0 posts2026-10-22: 0 posts2026-10-23: 0 posts2026-10-24: 0 posts2026-10-25: 0 posts2026-10-26: 0 posts2026-10-27: 0 posts2026-10-28: 0 posts2026-10-29: 0 posts2026-10-30: 0 posts2026-10-31: 0 posts2026-11-01: 0 posts2026-11-02: 0 posts2026-11-03: 0 posts

No posts seen yet on X, Bluesky, Mastodon, Hacker News or GitHub.

Vendor statements

Quoted
CloudflareWAF Managed RulesBefore feed history

The CVE predates the oldest entry in this vendor's public feed, so a rule may exist that we cannot see.

AWSAWS WAF Managed RulesNo public claim

We found no public statement from this vendor naming this CVE. That is not proof of no protection: generic rules may still catch it. AWS often describes a vulnerability without naming its CVE (for example "Log4j"). We count only entries that name the CVE, so AWS coverage is understated.

Microsoft AzureFront Door and Application Gateway WAF (DRS)No public claim

We found no public statement from this vendor naming this CVE. That is not proof of no protection: generic rules may still catch it. The rule tables name CVEs but carry no dates, so Azure is left out of every time-to-rule figure.

Google CloudCloud Armor preconfigured WAF rulesBefore feed history

The CVE predates the oldest entry in this vendor's public feed, so a rule may exist that we cannot see.

FastlyNext-Gen WAF virtual patchesBefore feed history

The CVE predates the oldest entry in this vendor's public feed, so a rule may exist that we cannot see.

F5Attack signatures (Distributed Cloud WAF)1 quoteRule published

First rule 2024-03-12, 964 days after the CVE was published.

2024-03-12New rule200010477Source
Added: signature 200010477 "Akkadian Provisioning Manager Information Disclosure" (Predictable Resource Location, risk Medium), systems: Other Web Server. References: CVE-2021-31581.
AkamaiApp & API Protector (Adaptive Security Engine)No public source

This vendor publishes no machine-readable rule changelog we can check.

OWASP CRSCore Rule Set (open source, used inside many WAFs)Before feed history

The CVE predates the oldest entry in this vendor's public feed, so a rule may exist that we cannot see.