How severe is CVE-2021-44515?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2021-44515 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2021-44515 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-12-10), indicating it is being actively exploited. 10 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Vulnerability in Zohocorp Manageengine Desktop Central

CVE-2021-44515

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.

Published 2021-12-12 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.999 (100.0th percentile), scored 2026-10-02.

Very high probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — among the top 0.1% most-likely-to-be-exploited CVEs. 100th percentile — 100.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.999 · newest: 0.999 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Zohocorp Manageengine Desktop Central

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2021-12-10. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2021-12-24.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

pitstop.manageengine.com/portal/en/community/topic/an-authentication-bypass-vul… (Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory)
www.manageengine.com/products/desktop-central/cve-2021-44515-authentication-byp… (Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory)
www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/current-activity/2021/12/10/cisa-adds-thirteen-known-e… (US Government Resource, Third Party Advisory, Broken Link)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-44515?: CVE-2021-44515 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Zohocorp Manageengine Desktop Central. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2021-12-12.
How severe is CVE-2021-44515?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2021-44515 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2021-44515 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-12-10), indicating it is being actively exploited. 10 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.