CVE-2021-44515
Zoho Desktop Central Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
Does this matter?
Known to be exploited in the wild (CISA KEV, CISA remediation deadline 24 December 2021). Treat as an emergency change: patch or isolate now, then hunt for prior compromise.
Description
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 3.1
- 9.8 CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 99.87% probability · 100th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Listed 10 December 2021 · due 24 December 2021
- Affected
- zohocorp/manageengine desktop central
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS 99.9% since 30 October 2026; no change recorded yet. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
CISA notes
Apply updates per vendor instructions. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-44515
References
- https://pitstop.manageengine.com/portal/en/community/topic/an-authentication-bypass-vulnerability-identified-and-fixed-in-desktop-central-and-desktop-central-mspIssue Tracking, Vendor Advisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/current-activity/2021/12/10/cisa-adds-thirteen-known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalogBroken Link, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
- https://www.manageengine.com/products/desktop-central/cve-2021-44515-authentication-bypass-filter-configuration.htmlExploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory
- https://pitstop.manageengine.com/portal/en/community/topic/an-authentication-bypass-vulnerability-identified-and-fixed-in-desktop-central-and-desktop-central-mspIssue Tracking, Vendor Advisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/current-activity/2021/12/10/cisa-adds-thirteen-known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalogBroken Link, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
- https://www.manageengine.com/products/desktop-central/cve-2021-44515-authentication-bypass-filter-configuration.htmlExploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-44515US Government Resource
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.