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Threats / Zoho / CVE-2021-44077
CVE-2021-44077 · EUVD no mirror located · GCVE no mirror located Verified 2026-06-22

Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (SDP) / SupportCenter vulnerability

Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and SupportCenter Plus versions before specified patches allow unauthenticated remote code execution due to missing authentication controls.

Verdict

Today item — known-exploited.

An unauthenticated attacker can execute arbitrary code on affected ManageEngine instances without credentials. The high EPSS score and active exploitation indicate immediate risk to exposed deployments.

CISA KEV Yes · 2021-12-013EPSS 0.93514 (verify live)4Exploit Weaponized · public PoC5
01

Is it exploitable?

— the evidence, ranked above the score
Exploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
11 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-12-01).
CISA KEV ↗Confirmed
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.93514 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Zoho, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (SDP) / SupportCenter Plus. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
NVD ↗Reported
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-306 Missing Authentication — weakness family: Authentication.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
NVD ↗Reported
WeaknessCWE-306 · Missing AuthenticationAuthentication
02

Who’s exploiting it?

— attribution turns risk into urgency
Attribution not established

No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.

03

Why it matters

— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board
1

Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1

Attacker
I identify a publicly exposed ManageEngine instance and send a crafted request that bypasses authentication checks.
Business
Attackers gain direct code execution access to critical IT service management infrastructure without any credential barrier.
2

Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2

Attacker
I execute system commands to establish persistence, exfiltrate data, or pivot to connected systems.
Business
Entire IT ticketing systems, employee records, and internal communications become compromised, enabling lateral movement across the organization.
3

Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3

Attacker
I deploy additional malware or maintain backdoor access for long-term reconnaissance.
Business
Incident response costs escalate as attackers maintain presence; customer trust erodes if service provider data is breached.
04

What to do

— defensible action
  • Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05

Coverage & confidence

— what we know, and what we don’t

Established (cited)

  • KEV listing (CISA)
  • EPSS probability (FIRST)
  • Weaponized exploit available (VulnCheck)
  • 11 reported-exploitation source(s)
  • CWE weakness mapping (NVD)
  • Public exploit availability
  • Catalogued by mitre (CNA)
  • Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden

  • No EUVD / GCVE mirror in feed — single-authority dependency for the identifier.
  • EPSS & exposure are time-varying; verify live at the source.
  • Threat-actor attribution not established from feed data — absence of a name is not absence of compromise.
  • No finder/reporter credit recorded in the public CVE entry — the work behind this find is unattributed.
  • Disclosure & credit2
    Catalogued by mitreCNA
    Credited with finding itNo finder named in the public CVE record — the work behind this find is unattributed.