Vulnerability · CVE-2021-22681
Rockwell Multiple Products Insufficient Protected Credentials Vulnerability
Published Mar 3, 2021 · catalog updated Jun 16, 2026 · Rockwell Multiple Products
Patch now
CVE-2021-22681 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Mar 26, 2026. Confirm Rockwell Multiple Products against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.
Gaps on this record
- No version range is stored. A customer cannot check an installed version against this record.
- Severity
- Critical9.8
- Known exploitation
- CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV
- EPSS
- 63.63%
- Remediation
- Remediation guidance
- Affected products
- cpe rockwellautomation/factorytalk services platform · cpe rockwellautomation/rslogix 5000 · cpe rockwellautomation/studio 5000 logix designer · vendor Rockwell Multiple Products
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.
Are you affected?
Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.
The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.
- cpe rockwellautomation/factorytalk services platformversion unspecified
- cpe rockwellautomation/rslogix 5000version unspecified
- cpe rockwellautomation/studio 5000 logix designerversion unspecified
- vendor Rockwell Multiple Productsversion unspecified
How to fix CVE-2021-22681
Recommended remediation
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. CISA due date Mar 26, 2026.
Official advisories
What to do
Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.
Should you patch?
CVE-2021-22681 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Mar 26, 2026. Confirm Rockwell Multiple Products against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.
Which versions are affected?
Affected version ranges are not on this record. Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
What should an analyst verify?
CWE-522: Insufficiently Protected Credentials. EPSS 63.63%. The CISA KEV listing is the exploitation evidence. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.
Code
The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.
No public source repository is identified for this product.
Timeline
Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.
Mar 3, 2021 · Catalog
Detected
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
Mar 5, 2026 · CISA KEV
Known exploited
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Mar 26, 2026 · CISA KEV
Remediation due
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Jun 16, 2026 · Catalog
Updated
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
Sources
- CISA KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2021-22681
Multiple Rockwell products contain an insufficient protected credentials vulnerability. Studio 5000 Logix Designer software may allow a key to be discovered. This key is used to verify Logix controllers are communicating with Rockwell Automation design software. If successfully exploited, this vulnerability could allow an unauthorized application to connect with Logix controllers. To leverage this
cisa.gov - CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2021-22681
Official CVE identifier
cve.org - FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2021-22681
30-day exploitation probability 63.6%
first.org - NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-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 controllers are communicating with Rockwell Automation CompactLogix 1768, 1769, 5370, 5380, 5480: ControlLogix 5550, 5560, 5570, 5580; DriveLogi
nvd.nist.gov - VulnCheck KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2021-22681
Multiple Rockwell products contain an insufficient protected credentials vulnerability. Studio 5000 Logix Designer software may allow a key to be discovered. This key is used to verify Logix controllers are communicating with Rockwell Automation design software. If successfully e
vulncheck.com
References
- VulnCheck exploitation evidence · cyble.com
- CISA note · nvd.nist.gov
- CISA note · support.rockwellautomation.com
- VulnCheck exploitation evidence · thecyberexpress.com
- Third Party Advisory · us-cert.cisa.gov
- US Government Resource · cisa.gov
- CISA note · cisa.gov
- VulnCheck exploitation evidence · cisa.gov
- VulnCheck exploitation evidence · tenable.com
Freshness
Last verified in this catalog Oct 16, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.