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CVE-2021-22681

Insufficiently Protected Credentials — is CVE-2021-22681real, exploitable, or a false positive? Here's the community ground truth.

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Critical · CVSS 9.8EPSS 25.5%CISA KEVCWE-522 · Insufficiently Protected Credentials

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

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.

References

NVD MITRE CVE.org CISA KEV

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Community ground truth

Community verdict

3 verdicts
Not a real issue

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Community real-world severity: Critical (Critical 3) — CVSS base score 9.8

In line with its CVSS base score.

Field notes & remediation

Verdicts are the quick signal — notes are the evidence and fixes behind them.

  • 0
    Field note · Priya NairCurated

    Rockwell Multiple Products Insufficient Protected Credentials Vulnerability — 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 vulnerability, an unauthorized user would require network access to the controller. Listed in the CISA KEV catalog (added 2026-03-05) — confirmed exploited in the wild, not theoretical. FIRST EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at ~25%. Treat it as real and prioritize remediation over triage.

  • 0
    Remediation · Diego RamírezCurated

    Required action for Rockwell Multiple Products: 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 set a federal remediation due date of 2026-03-26. After patching, verify the vulnerable path is no longer reachable before closing the finding.

Related CVEs

Same weakness — CWE-522 · Insufficiently Protected Credentials.