# CVE-2021-31581: Akkadian Provisioning Manager Engine (PME) Shell Escape via 'vi' editor interface

- Exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2021-07-22
- CVSS: 7.9 HIGH (v3.1)
- EPSS: 1.2% (67th percentile)
- CWE: CWE-269

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).

## Edge WAF coverage (claimed by vendors, not measured)

| Vendor | Status | First rule | Days after publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Before feed history | — | — |
| AWS | No public claim | — | — |
| Microsoft Azure | No public claim | — | — |
| Google Cloud | Before feed history | — | — |
| Fastly | Before feed history | — | — |
| F5 | Rule published | 2024-03-12 | 964 |
| Akamai | No public source | — | — |
| OWASP CRS | Before feed history | — | — |

### F5

- 2024-03-12 · new · rule 200010477
  > Added: signature 200010477 "Akkadian Provisioning Manager Information Disclosure" (Predictable Resource Location, risk Medium), systems: Other Web Server. References: CVE-2021-31581.
  Source: https://docs.cloud.f5.com/docs-v2/platform/changelogs/security-details-changelog

## Our test (measured)

- OWASP Core Rule Set 4.25.0, paranoia level 1, anomaly threshold 5, default CRS settings: passed (0 of 1 requests blocked), template CVE-2021-31581, 2026-11-02
- OWASP Core Rule Set 4.25.0, paranoia level 2, anomaly threshold 5, default CRS settings: passed (0 of 1 requests blocked), template CVE-2021-31581, 2026-11-02

"No public claim" means no vendor statement names this CVE; "Before feed history" means the CVE is older than the vendor feed. In both cases generic rules may still block it.

HTML: https://cve.vigilbase.com/cve/CVE-2021-31581 · JSON: https://cve.vigilbase.com/api/v1/cves/CVE-2021-31581