# CVE-2021-44533: Security feature bypass in Node

> Attackers can bypass certificate subject verification by crafting ambiguous Relative Distinguished Names, affecting Node.js users relying on TLS validation.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Feb 2022
- **Updated:** 8 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2021-44533, AZL-8819, BIT-node-2021-44533, BIT-node-min-2021-44533, CLEANSTART-2026-BN69349, CLEANSTART-2026-IA73546, CLEANSTART-2026-KZ31335, DEBIAN-CVE-2021-44533, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-44533

## What is CVE-2021-44533?

CVE-2021-44533 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 24 Feb 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official 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.

Weakness: CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-44533?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including node and node-min. It affects 9 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `node` | Bitnami | All versions | 12.22.9, 14.18.3, 16.13.2, 17.3.1 |
| `node-min` | Bitnami | All versions | 12.22.9, 14.18.3, 16.13.2, 17.3.1 |

Products: Debian Debian Linux, Nodejs Node.js, Oracle Graalvm, Oracle Mysql Cluster, Oracle Mysql Connectors, Oracle Mysql Enterprise Monitor, Oracle Mysql Server, Oracle Mysql Workbench, Oracle Peoplesoft Enterprise Peopletools.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-44533?

Upgrade node to a fixed version for your release line: 12.22.9, 14.18.3, 16.13.2 or 17.3.1.

## Is CVE-2021-44533 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-44533 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-44533 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-44533 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 24 Feb 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-44533 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- node (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 12.22.9, 14.18.3, 16.13.2, 17.3.1
- node-min (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 12.22.9, 14.18.3, 16.13.2, 17.3.1

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-44533/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-44533/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-44533
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-44533
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-44533

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-44533/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.