CVE-2021-44207: Acclaim USAHERDS hard-coded credentials allow remote compromise

Automated analysis

Generated by VULONE's analysis model from the NVD record, CISA KEV and EPSS data on 17 September 2026. Confidence: medium.

high priorityIt is in CISA KEV with a high EPSS percentile and CVSS 8.1, but exploitation requires knowledge of the static credentials and the record provides no patched version or confirmed active campaign details.

What it is

Acclaim USAHERDS through 7.4.0.1 ships with hard-coded credentials (CWE-798). Anyone who knows or extracts those credentials can authenticate to the application without legitimate access. Because the flaw is baked into the product, it cannot be fixed by configuration alone and requires a vendor patch or compensating controls.

Impact

An attacker gains authenticated access to USAHERDS with the privileges tied to the hard-coded account, with high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact per the CVSS vector. That access can be used to read or alter animal health and herd records and to disrupt the service.

Attack surface

The vulnerability is network-reachable (AV:N) with no privileges required (PR:N) and no user interaction (UI:N), so an attacker only needs network access to the exposed USAHERDS interface and knowledge of the static credentials. Attack complexity is rated high (AC:H), meaning some additional condition or knowledge is needed beyond simple reachability.

Exploitation

CISA added this CVE to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2024-12-23, indicating real-world exploitation; EPSS is 0.17578 (96.98th percentile), a high relative likelihood. No ransomware campaign use is documented in the record.

What to do

• Apply the vendor's patch or mitigation guidance for USAHERDS; contact Acclaim Systems for the fixed release since the record does not name a patched version.
• If no fix is available, discontinue use of the product or isolate it from untrusted networks per CISA's required action.
• Restrict network access to USAHERDS to trusted management networks and require strong authentication in front of it.
• Rotate or disable any default or hard-coded accounts and audit for their use.
• Monitor vendor and CISA advisories for updated remediation guidance.

Detection

• Search authentication logs for logins using known or default USAHERDS service accounts, especially from unexpected source IPs or outside business hours.
• Baseline normal account usage and alert on first-seen accounts or authentication from new geographies or hosts.
• Review network logs for direct access to USAHERDS management interfaces from the internet or untrusted segments.
• Correlate successful authentications with subsequent record modification or export activity in USAHERDS.

This assessment is produced automatically and is not human-reviewed. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting on it.