CVE-2021-44515

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8—
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.8 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-12-10), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 9.8 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 3 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
9.8EG
EchelonGraph verdictMitigate nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS PROB: 100%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: cisa kev · ssvc active · epss top5pct · epss high · public exploitExposed services: Not assessed

A fix is referenced (a reference tagged "Patch", often a source commit), but no release containing it is confirmed — find the release that contains it; until it is applied, mitigate (WAF / firewall / segmentation).

Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central is vulnerable to authentication bypass, leading to remote code execution on the server, as exploited in the wild in December 2021. For Enterprise builds 10.1.2127.17 and earlier, upgrade to 10.1.2127.18. For Enterprise builds 10.1.2128.0 through 10.1.2137.2, upgrade to 10.1.2137.3. For MSP builds 10.1.2127.17 and earlier, upgrade to 10.1.2127.18. For MSP builds 10.1.2128.0 through 10.1.2137.2, upgrade to 10.1.2137.3.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8CRITICALhigh confidence
EG Risk
99
EG Risk 99/100CISA SSVC

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity98% × 45%
Exploitation100% × 40%
Automatability100% × 15%
CISA SSVC: Attend at low mission impact; Act at medium or high.
Action: A fix is referenced, but no release containing it is confirmed. Check the referenced fix and the vendor's advisory for a release that contains it and apply that sooner than your standard update timelines at low mission impact and as soon as possible at medium or high; until then, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation.
EPSS PROB
100%
EPSS %ILE
99th
KEV
⚠ Exploited

CISA SSVCAttend at low mission impact; Act at medium or high.

A fix is referenced, but no release containing it is confirmed. Check the referenced fix and the vendor's advisory for a release that contains it and apply that sooner than your standard update timelines at low mission impact and as soon as possible at medium or high; until then, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation.

Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it: high means the affected system is essential to your organisation's mission, or its compromise could cause irreversible harm to people. CISA's decision table

Published

December 12, 2021

Last Modified

October 31, 2025

Advisory Details (3)

Auto-updated Oct 1, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. Fix referenced — no release confirmed yet. Sources: cisa.
cisa🔴 Active Exploitation

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA. Listed in CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-44515
generic

Authentication Bypass using Filter Configuration | ManageEngine

https://www.manageengine.com/products/desktop-central/cve-2021-44515-authentication-bypass-filter-configuration.html
generic
https://pitstop.manageengine.com/portal/en/community/topic/an-authentication-bypass-vulnerability-identified-and-fixed-in-desktop-central-and-desktop-central-msp

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 46× in last 7d / 210× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 894 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-10-06 05:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-10-06 01:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-10-05 21:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-10-05 18:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-10-05 14:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-10-05 10:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-10-05 06:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-10-05 03:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-10-04 23:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-10-04 19:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-10-04 15:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-10-04 11:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-10-04 08:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-10-04 04:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-10-04 00:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-10-03 20:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-10-03 16:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-10-03 13:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-10-03 09:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-10-03 05:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-10-03 01:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-10-02 21:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-10-02 18:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-10-02 14:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-10-02 10:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-10-02 06:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-10-02 02:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-10-01 23:00 UTCEG score recompute
  4. 2026-10-01 23:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-10-01 19:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-10-01 19:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-10-01 15:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-10-01 11:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-10-01 07:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-10-01 04:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-10-01 00:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-09-30 20:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-09-30 16:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-09-30 12:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-09-30 09:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-09-30 05:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-09-30 01:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-09-29 21:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-09-29 17:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-09-29 13:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-09-29 10:05 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-09-29 06:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-09-29 02:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-09-28 22:40 UTCEG score recompute
  25. 2026-09-28 22:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  26. 2026-09-28 18:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  27. 2026-09-28 15:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  28. 2026-09-28 11:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  29. 2026-09-28 07:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  30. 2026-09-28 03:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
  31. 2026-09-27 23:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  32. 2026-09-27 21:51 UTCCISA KEV update
  33. 2026-09-27 20:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  34. 2026-09-27 16:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  35. 2026-09-27 12:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  36. 2026-09-27 08:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-09-27 04:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  38. 2026-09-27 01:09 UTCGHSA enrichment
  39. 2026-09-26 21:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  40. 2026-09-26 17:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  41. 2026-09-26 13:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  42. 2026-09-26 09:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-09-26 06:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  44. 2026-09-26 02:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  45. 2026-09-25 22:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  46. 2026-09-25 19:35 UTCCISA KEV update
  47. 2026-09-25 18:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  48. 2026-09-25 14:55 UTCCISA KEV update
  49. 2026-09-25 14:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  50. 2026-09-25 10:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  51. 2026-09-25 07:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  52. 2026-09-25 03:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  53. 2026-09-24 23:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  54. 2026-09-24 19:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  55. 2026-09-24 19:31 UTCCISA KEV update
  56. 2026-09-24 16:00 UTCEG score recompute
  57. 2026-09-24 16:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  58. 2026-09-24 14:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  59. 2026-09-24 14:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  60. 2026-09-24 12:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  61. 2026-09-24 08:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  62. 2026-09-24 04:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  63. 2026-09-24 00:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  64. 2026-09-23 21:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  65. 2026-09-23 17:16 UTCGHSA enrichment
  66. 2026-09-23 13:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  67. 2026-09-23 09:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  68. 2026-09-23 05:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  69. 2026-09-23 02:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  70. 2026-09-22 22:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  71. 2026-09-22 19:36 UTCCISA KEV update
  72. 2026-09-22 18:31 UTCGHSA enrichment
  73. 2026-09-22 14:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  74. 2026-09-22 10:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  75. 2026-09-22 07:09 UTCGHSA enrichment

Publicly available exploits

(1 reference)

Working exploit code is in the public domain. Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Nucleihttp/cves/2021/CVE-2021-44515.yaml
    First seen Jan 1, 2021

    Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central - Remote Code Execution

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2021-44515?
CVE-2021-44515 is a critical vulnerability published on December 12, 2021. Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central is vulnerable to authentication bypass, leading to remote code execution on the server, as exploited in the wild in December 2021. For Enterprise builds 10.1.2127.17 and earlier, upgrade to 10.1.2127.18. For Enterprise builds 10.1.2128.0 through 10.1.2137.2,…
When was CVE-2021-44515 disclosed?
CVE-2021-44515 was first published on December 12, 2021, with the most recent update on October 31, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2021-44515 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2021-44515 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on December 10, 2021, affecting Zoho Desktop Central. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate attention. A fix is referenced, but no release containing it is confirmed. Check the referenced fix and the vendor's advisory for a release that contains it and apply that; until then, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-44515?
CVE-2021-44515 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
Which products are affected by CVE-2021-44515?
CVE-2021-44515 affects Zoho Desktop Central.
How do I remediate CVE-2021-44515?
A fix for CVE-2021-44515 is referenced (a reference tagged "Patch", often a source commit), but EchelonGraph has no release containing it on record. Check that reference and the vendor's advisory for a release that contains the fix and update to it; until then, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation.

Dependency Blast Radius

Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2021-44515

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