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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 24 Dec 2021.
Manageengine Desktop CentralApplication · Zohocorp

CVE-2021-44515

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.1.2127.18 / 10.1.2137.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
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.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central contains an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms and execute arbitrary code on the server. This critical flaw was actively exploited in the wild in December 2021.

MitigationOrganizations should immediately identify their current Desktop Central build version and upgrade to the patched release (10.1.2127.18 for older builds, or 10.1.2137.3 for builds 10.1.2128.0-10.1.2137.2) as specified in the vendor advisory.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Manageengine Desktop CentralApplication
Affected:< 10.1.2127.18>= 10.1.2128.0, < 10.1.2137.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate the installed version of Desktop Central
    Access the Desktop Central admin console and navigate to the About page, or check the version.txt/build.info file in the installation directory (typically in the Desktop Central server folder or conf folder)
    Affected if The displayed version/build number falls below 10.1.2127.18 or is between 10.1.2128.0 and 10.1.2137.2 (inclusive)
  2. Verify the exact build number
    Confirm the full build number shown in the admin console (often displayed as 10.1.xxx.xxxx format). Check the build.info or version.properties file in the installation directory if available
    Affected if The build number is < 10.1.2127.18 OR >= 10.1.2128.0 AND < 10.1.2137.3
  3. Identify the installation path
    On Windows, check the default installation path (usually C:\ManageEngine\DesktopCentral\_ or C:\Program Files\ManageEngine\DesktopCentral\) for the version/build files. On Linux, check /opt/DesktopCentral/ or the configured installation directory
    Affected if The installation directory contains version files showing a vulnerable build number from the affected ranges

You are affected if your installed Desktop Central build number is any version before 10.1.2127.18, or falls between 10.1.2128.0 and 10.1.2137.2 inclusive.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.1.2127.18 / 10.1.2137.3 or later
Fixed in 10.1.2127.1810.1.2137.3
Vendor patch www.manageengine.com →
Interim mitigation

Organizations should immediately identify their current Desktop Central build version and upgrade to the patched release (10.1.2127.18 for older builds, or 10.1.2137.3 for builds 10.1.2128.0-10.1.2137.2) as specified in the vendor advisory.

Recommended fix High confidence

10.1.2127.18 (for versions <=10.1.2127.17) or 10.1.2137.3 (for versions 10.1.2128.0-10.1.2137.2)

  1. 1. Identify the current version of ManageEngine Desktop Central by checking the About or Version section in the admin console
  2. 2. If current version is 10.1.2127.17 or earlier, plan to upgrade to version 10.1.2127.18
  3. 3. If current version is 10.1.2128.0 through 10.1.2137.2, plan to upgrade to version 10.1.2137.3
  4. 4. Download the appropriate upgrade package from the official ManageEngine downloads portal (pitstop.manageengine.com or www.manageengine.com)
  5. 5. Back up the current installation, including the database and configuration files
  6. 6. Stop the Desktop Central server service before upgrading
  7. 7. Run the upgrade installer and follow the on-screen prompts
  8. 8. After upgrade completes, start the Desktop Central server service

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Manageengine Desktop Central Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-44515 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data