CVE-2021-22681

Rockwell Multiple Products Insufficient Protected Credentials Vulnerability

  • Critical 9.8
  • Exploited: added to CISA KEV 5 Mar 2026

Description

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.

Key facts

Published
3 Mar 2021
Last changed
6 Mar 2026
Assigned by
icscert
KEV added
5 Mar 2026
KEV fix due
26 Mar 2026
EPSS
63.63% likely to be exploited in the next 30 days, higher than 99.229% of CVEs (scores for 15 Nov 2026)
SSVC (CISA)
Exploitation: active; Automatable: yes; Technical impact: total

Severity scores

Each score is shown as its source gave it. They are not averaged or merged.

  • 9.8CVSS 3.1, Criticalfrom CISA (ADP container)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

What to do

  • 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 KEV required action

Historical context and remediation

This reference retains the original CVE publication date. A recent record update does not mean a new attack occurred.

No separately sourced impact summary is available on this page yet. Consult the description, version data and dated exploitation evidence.

Version statuses below come from the CNA. An “unaffected” version is not necessarily a currently supported release or proof of a patch date. EPSS is a dated risk estimate, not a count of historical attacks.

Read the original CVE record.

Affected products

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

Timeline

  1. 3 Mar 2021 Published
  2. 5 Mar 2026 CVE-2021-22681 added to CISA KEV
  3. 5 Mar 2026 Added to the CISA KEV catalogue

Weakness

References