No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2021-44533

Q: What is CVE-2021-44533?

Node.js < 12.22.9, < 14.18.3, < 16.13.2, and < 17.3.1 did not handle multi-value Relative Distinguished Names correctly. Attackers could craft certificate subjects containing a single-value Relative Distinguished Name that would be interpreted as a multi-value Relative Distinguished Name, for example, in order to inject a Common Name that would allow bypassing the certificate subject verification.Affected versions of Node.js that do not accept multi-value Relative Distinguished Names and are thus not vulnerable to such attacks themselves. However, third-party code that uses node's ambiguous presentation of certificate subjects may be vulnerable.

Q: Is CVE-2021-44533 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2021-44533 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 9.4% on 2026-10-22, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Q: What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-44533?

CVE-2021-44533 has a CVSS v3 base score of 5.3 (MEDIUM severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N.

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

Published2022-02-24
Fixed in17.3.1 · 16.13.2 · 14.18.3 · 12.22.9
WeaknessCWE-295

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

Node.js < 12.22.9, < 14.18.3, < 16.13.2, and < 17.3.1 did not handle multi-value Relative Distinguished Names correctly. Attackers could craft certificate subjects containing a single-value Relative Distinguished Name that would be interpreted as a multi-value Relative Distinguished Name, for example, in order to inject a Common Name that would allow bypassing the certificate subject verification.Affected versions of Node.js that do not accept multi-value Relative Distinguished Names and are thus not vulnerable to such attacks themselves. However, third-party code that uses node's ambiguous presentation of certificate subjects may be vulnerable.

Timeline

dates in UTC

2022-02-2419:15CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 18:48 UTC

Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days

Block these indicators

Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-44533?format=txt
CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-44533?format=csv
TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD · OSV

Node.js

Branch	Affected	Fixed in	Source
17.x	≥ 17.0.0, < 17.3.1	17.3.1	NVD
16.x	≥ 16.0.0, < 16.13.2	16.13.2	NVD
14.x	≥ 14.0.0, < 14.18.3	14.18.3	NVD
12.22	< 12.22.9	12.22.9	NVD · OSV

Oracle graalvm

Branch	Affected	Fixed in	Source
20.3	= 20.3.5	no fix published	NVD
21.3	= 21.3.1	no fix published	NVD
22.0	= 22.0.0.2	no fix published	NVD

Oracle mysql cluster

Branch	Affected	Fixed in	Source
8.0	< 8.0.29	8.0.29	NVD
8.0	= 8.0.29	no fix published	NVD

6 more products in the sources.

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

nodejsAlmaLinux:8all versions · fixed in 1:16.18.1-3.module_el8.7.0+3371+ed8c43dband 3 other packages
nodejs-nodemonAlmaLinux:8all versions · fixed in 2.0.20-2.module_el8.7.0+3371+ed8c43db
nodejs-packagingAlmaLinux:8all versions · fixed in 25-1.module_el8.5.0+2605+45d748af
npmAlmaLinux:8all versions · fixed in 1:8.19.2-1.16.18.1.3.module_el8.7.0+3371+ed8c43db

Vendor advisories

CVE-2021-44533 Red Hat Product Security242 products fixed · 1 known affected
nodejs: Incorrect handling of certificate subject and issuer fields
nodejs.src as a component of Red Hat Quay 3
RHSA-2023:3742 Red Hat Product Security4 products fixed
Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation 4.13.0 security and bug fix update
RHSA-2023:1742 Red Hat Product Security30 products fixed
Red Hat Security Advisory: nodejs:14 security, bug fix, and enhancement update
RHSA-2022:9073 Red Hat Product Security30 products fixed
Red Hat Security Advisory: nodejs:16 security, bug fix, and enhancement update
RHSA-2022:7830 Red Hat Product Security30 products fixed
Red Hat Security Advisory: nodejs:14 security update
RHSA-2022:7044 Red Hat Product Security20 products fixed
Red Hat Security Advisory: rh-nodejs14-nodejs security update

5 more advisories

Full record on NVD

Fix

Update Node.js to 17.3.1 · 16.13.2 · 14.18.3 · 12.22.9
Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:3742 · 4 productsThese updated images include numerous enhancements and bug fixes. Space precludes documenting all of these changes in this advisory. Users are directed to the Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation Release Notes for information on the most significant of these changes: https://access.redhat.com/documen…
Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:1742 · 30 productsFor details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHEA-2022:5615 · 30 productsBefore applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied. For details on how to apply this update, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

Advisories and patches

hackerone.comMitigation
nodejs.orgRelease Notes · Vendor Advisory
www.oracle.comPatch

Detection

Nuclei template: none so far
Exploit-DB: no entry
Proof-of-concept repositories: none listed

Sources

CISA-ADPSSVC decisionnone2026-10-08
OpenCVESSVC decisionnone—
NVDCVSS 3.15.3read 2026-10-23
NVDCVSS 2.05read 2026-10-23
CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-295read 2026-10-23
NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-295read 2026-10-23
FIRST EPSSEPSS score9.4 %2026-10-22
OSVaffected packages—

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Published: 2022-02-24
Last Modified: 2026-10-08
NVD status: Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-44533?

Is CVE-2021-44533 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2021-44533 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 9.4% on 2026-10-22, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-44533?

CVE-2021-44533 has a CVSS v3 base score of 5.3 (MEDIUM severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N.

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