CVE-2021-44515: Zoho Desktop Central Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Name

Zoho Desktop Central Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Vendor

Zoho

Product

Desktop Central

Added to the catalog

2021-12-10

Due date for US federal agencies

2021-12-24

Catalog version

2026.10.30

Zoho Desktop Central contains an authentication bypass vulnerability that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the Desktop Central MSP server.

Required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Ransomware use: CISA does not mark known use of this vulnerability in ransomware campaigns.

Links in CISA's notes

• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-44515

Read on 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z under licence cisa-kev-cc0@b0067899 from https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json

NVD analysis

Status

Analyzed

Published

2021-12-12T05:15:07.997

Last modified

2026-06-17T04:12:29.943

Weaknesses

NVD-CWE-noinfo

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.

References

• https://pitstop.manageengine.com/portal/en/community/topic/an-authentication-bypass-vulnerability-identified-and-fixed-in-desktop-central-and-desktop-central-msp (Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory)
• https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/current-activity/2021/12/10/cisa-adds-thirteen-known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource)
• https://www.manageengine.com/products/desktop-central/cve-2021-44515-authentication-bypass-filter-configuration.html (Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory)
• https://pitstop.manageengine.com/portal/en/community/topic/an-authentication-bypass-vulnerability-identified-and-fixed-in-desktop-central-and-desktop-central-msp (Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory)
• https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/current-activity/2021/12/10/cisa-adds-thirteen-known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource)
• https://www.manageengine.com/products/desktop-central/cve-2021-44515-authentication-bypass-filter-configuration.html (Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory)
• https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-44515 (US Government Resource)

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

Read on 2026-11-02T23:41:59.479Z under licence nvd-api-terms-of-use@ff2a5288 from https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2021-44515

CVE record

Assigner

mitre

State

PUBLISHED

Published

2021-12-12T04:04:55.000Z

Updated

2025-10-21T23:25:22.936Z

Problem types

n/a

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.

References

• https://pitstop.manageengine.com/portal/en/community/topic/an-authentication-bypass-vulnerability-identified-and-fixed-in-desktop-central-and-desktop-central-msp
• https://www.manageengine.com/products/desktop-central/cve-2021-44515-authentication-bypass-filter-configuration.html
• https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/current-activity/2021/12/10/cisa-adds-thirteen-known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog

Read on 2026-11-03T01:09:20.529Z under licence cve-terms-of-use@81bfa2f3 from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2021/44xxx/CVE-2021-44515.json