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NVD / CVE Program· CNA icscert

CVE-2021-22681: Rockwell Automation Studio 5000 Logix Designer Versions 21 and later, and RSLogix 5000 Versions 16 through 20 use a key to verify Logix…

CriticalCVSS 9.8 · v3.1KEVWeaponized No fix recorded

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Now (action score 88/100)

  • CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild (Mar 5, 2026). Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Mar 26, 2026.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 63.6% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 99.2% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
  • According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.
  • Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).

Patch today or shut off access. Until a fix is released, restrict access to the affected component and follow the vendor's advisory.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · CISA KEV · FIRST EPSS

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.

Published
Mar 3, 2021
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
63.6% · 99th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

88

Now

Patch today or shut off access.

CVSS
39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
CISA KEV
30 / 30 · Listed
EPSS
19 / 30 · 63.6%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
active
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

Actively exploited in the wild

CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Mar 5, 2026. That signals real attacks, not theory.

Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Mar 26, 2026.

Get told when this record changes

  • In CISA KEV: exploitation in the wild confirmed
  • Weaponized exploit exists
  • No fixed version yet

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2021-22681

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
rockwellautomationfactorytalk services platform
rockwellautomationrslogix 5000
rockwellautomationstudio 5000 logix designer
rockwellautomationcompact guardlogix 5370
rockwellautomationcompact guardlogix 5380
rockwellautomationcompactlogix 1768
rockwellautomationcompactlogix 1769
rockwellautomationcompactlogix 5370
rockwellautomationcompactlogix 5380
rockwellautomationcompactlogix 5480
rockwellautomationcontrollogix 5550
rockwellautomationcontrollogix 5560

and 8 more

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (icscert). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • n/a Rockwell Automation Studio 5000 Logix Designer, RSLogix 5000, Logix Controllers

    • RSLogix 5000 Versions 16 through 20, Studio 5000 Logix Designer: Versions 21 and later, CompactLogix 1768, 1769, 5370, 5380, 5480, ControlLogix 5550, 5560, 5570, 5580, DriveLogix 5560, 5730, 1794-L34, Compact GuardLogix 5370, 5380, GuardLogix 5570, 5580, SoftLogix 5800affected

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • rockwellautomation factorytalk services platform2.10 and later
  • rockwellautomation rslogix 500016 and later · up to 20 inclusive
  • rockwellautomation studio 5000 logix designer21.0 and later

Same product

rockwellautomation: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2020-14516In Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk Services Platform Versions 6.10.00 and 6.11.00, there is an issue with the implementation of the SHA-256…
    41Plan
  • CVE-2020-6967In Rockwell Automation all versions of FactoryTalk Diagnostics software, a subsystem of the FactoryTalk Services Platform, FactoryTalk…
    41Plan
  • CVE-2024-21917Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk® Service Platform Service Token Vulnerability
    36Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2018-18981Jan 24, 2019 · In Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk Services Platform 2.90 and earlier, a remote unauthenticated attacker could send numerous crafted…
    31Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2020-12033Jun 23, 2020 · In Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk Services Platform, all versions, the redundancy host service (RdcyHost.exe) does not validate supplied…
    35Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2020-14478Feb 24, 2022 · IMPROPER RESTRICTION OF XML EXTERNAL ENTITY REFERENCE CWE-611
    28Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

Weaponized

A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.

Evidence

  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×1

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02026-07-31

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Published
  2. CISA KEV+1827 d
  3. First PoC+1975 d
  4. TodayNov 14, 2026+2081 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)

Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.

All national notices →

Not on record for this CVE: patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-522 · Insufficiently Protected Credentials

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records