How severe is CVE-2021-22681?

CVE-2021-22681 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-22681?

Affected package information for CVE-2021-22681 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2021-22681?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2021-22681 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2021-22681 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2021-22681 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-22681?

CVE-2021-22681 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 18.2%, placing it in the 95th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

Is CVE-2021-22681 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2021-22681 (Rockwell Multiple Products Insufficient Protected Credentials Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2026-03-05. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2026-03-26. The required action was: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-22681?

CVE-2021-22681 is classified as CWE-522 (CWE-522). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2021-22681?

CVE-2021-22681 affects rockwellautomation factorytalk services platform; rockwellautomation rslogix 5000; rockwellautomation studio 5000 logix designer. Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2021-22681 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-22681 was published on March 3, 2021 and was last updated on March 6, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2021-22681: Factorytalk Services Platform CWE-522 (Critical…

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

18.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk95th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

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.

Affected Products

3 products · 3 configurations

Application

factorytalk services platformrockwellautomation

≥ 2.10

range

Application

rslogix 5000rockwellautomation

≥ 16 && ≤ 20

range

Application

studio 5000 logix designerrockwellautomation

≥ 21.0

range

Frequently Asked Questions

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 Ro

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-22681 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2021-22681 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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