CVE DATABASE / CVE-2021-22681
CVE-2021-22681
Rockwell Multiple Products Insufficient Protected Credentials Vulnerability
Confirmed exploited in the wild. Added 2026-03-05.
Federal remediation due 2026-03-26.
Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Summary
Rockwell Automation Studio 5000 Logix Designer Versions 21 and later, and RSLogix 5000 Versions 16 through 20 use a key to verify Logix controllers are communicating with Rockwell Automation CompactLogix 1768, 1769, 5370, 5380, 5480: ControlLogix 5550, 5560, 5570, 5580; DriveLogix 5560, 5730, 1794-L34; Compact GuardLogix 5370, 5380; GuardLogix 5570, 5580; SoftLogix 5800. Rockwell Automation Studio 5000 Logix Designer Versions 21 and later and RSLogix 5000: Versions 16 through 20 are vulnerable because an unauthenticated attacker could bypass this verification mechanism and authenticate with Rockwell Automation CompactLogix 1768, 1769, 5370, 5380, 5480: ControlLogix 5550, 5560, 5570, 5580; DriveLogix 5560, 5730, 1794-L34; Compact GuardLogix 5370, 5380; GuardLogix 5570, 5580; SoftLogix 5800.
CVSS 3.1 breakdown
| 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 |
| Attack vector | NETWORK |
| Attack complexity | LOW |
| Privileges required | NONE |
| User interaction | NONE |
| Scope | UNCHANGED |
| Confidentiality | HIGH |
| Integrity | HIGH |
| Availability | HIGH |
Weakness type (CWE)
Affected products
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References
- https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics/advisories/icsa-21-056-03
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-22681
Data: NIST NVD + CISA KEV. NVD last modified 2026-03-06. Always verify against the vendor advisory before acting.