What is CVE-2021-44736?

CVE-2021-44736 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Lexmark Mc3224i, classified under Improper Authentication. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2022-01-20.

How severe is CVE-2021-44736?

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

Is CVE-2021-44736 known to be exploited?

1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Auth bypass in Lexmark Mc3224i

CVE-2021-44736

The initial admin account setup wizard on Lexmark devices allow unauthenticated access to the “out of service erase” feature.

Vulnerability class: Broken Authentication

Published 2022-01-20 · 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: 0.022 (82.0th percentile), scored 2026-09-30.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 82nd percentile — 82.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.022 · newest: 0.022 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-287 — Improper Authentication

Public proof-of-concept exploits

defensor/CVE-2021-44736

References

support.lexmark.com/alerts/ (Vendor Advisory)
www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-22-331/ (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-44736?: CVE-2021-44736 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Lexmark Mc3224i, classified under Improper Authentication. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2022-01-20.
How severe is CVE-2021-44736?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2021-44736 known to be exploited?: 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.