dbcve.org
Manageengine Desktop CentralApplication · Zohocorp

CVE-2021-44757

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.1.2137.9 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 before 10.1.2137.9 and Desktop Central MSP before 10.1.2137.9 allow attackers to bypass authentication, and read sensitive information or upload an arbitrary ZIP archive to the server.

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 and Desktop Central MSP versions before 10.1.2137.9 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass security controls, read sensitive information from the server, or upload arbitrary ZIP archives to the server.

MitigationUpgrade to Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central and Desktop Central MSP version 10.1.2137.9 or later to address the authentication bypass vulnerability.

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:< 10.1.2137.9
Manageengine Desktop Central Managed Service ProvidersApplication
Affected:< 10.1.2137.9

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
None

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

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 Desktop Central version number
    Access the product's admin console or login page and navigate to the About or Version section, typically found in the Help menu or footer of the web interface. The version is also often displayed on the login page itself.
    Affected if The displayed version is below 10.1.2137.9 or the version information cannot be retrieved and the installation is known to be older.
  2. Confirm the product variant
    Identify whether the installation is Desktop Central (standard) or Desktop Central MSP (Managed Service Providers). This is typically visible in the product name on the login page or admin console header.
    Affected if The product is either Desktop Central or Desktop Central MSP with a version below 10.1.2137.9.
  3. Check for externally accessible login page
    Determine if the Desktop Central web interface is exposed to the internet or accessible from untrusted networks by reviewing network firewall rules or reverse proxy configurations.
    Affected if The web interface is internet-facing and the version is below 10.1.2137.9, as the vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication remotely.
  4. Review server configuration files
    On the server hosting Desktop Central, examine configuration files in the installation directory (commonly under conf or config folders) for version references. On Windows, check the Windows Programs and Features list or the service details; on Linux, check RPM/Deb packages or the installation directory.
    Affected if The version retrieved from local system files or package management shows a version lower than 10.1.2137.9.

Your environment is affected if Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central or Desktop Central MSP is installed with any version number lower than 10.1.2137.9, regardless of whether the web interface is currently accessible from internal or external networks.

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 10.1.2137.9 or later
Fixed in 10.1.2137.9
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central and Desktop Central MSP version 10.1.2137.9 or later to address the authentication bypass vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Desktop Central / Desktop Central MSP version 10.1.2137.9 or later

  1. Back up the current ManageEngine Desktop Central installation and database before proceeding
  2. Download version 10.1.2137.9 or later from the official ManageEngine download portal (pitstop.manageengine.com)
  3. Install the upgrade following the vendor's documented upgrade procedure
  4. Verify the installation completed successfully
  5. Confirm the authentication bypass vulnerability is resolved by verifying the version number in the admin console
Caveat Standard upgrade - review vendor release notes for any configuration changes between your current version and 10.1.2137.9

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

Fix this in Manageengine Desktop Central Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-44757 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