CVE Intelligence
Medium Cryptography exploit reference

CVE-2021-44533 — Improper Certificate Validation in Debian Debian Linux

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.

Published Feb 24, 2022 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: hackerone

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 9.4% (30-day exploitation probability)+14
  • Technical severity (medium)+3
  • Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
9.36%
ahead of 95% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Debian
Debian Linux and 9 more
CVSS base
5.3
Medium · 1 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
Yes
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented mitigation — hackerone.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — www.oracle.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Debian Debian Linux, Nodejs Node, Nodejs Node.js…).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  4. EPSS ahead of 95% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  5. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (cryptography), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Debian Debian Linux version 11.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Nodejs Node ≥ 17.0 and < 17.3.1≥ 13.0 and < 13.*≥ 12.0 and < 12.22.9≥ 11.0 and < 11.*≥ 10.0 and < 10.*≥ 9.0 and < 9.*≥ 8.0 and < 8.*≥ 7.0 and < 7.*
and 6 more ≥ 6.0 and < 6.*≥ 5.0 and < 5.*≥ 4.0 and < 4.*≥ 14.0 and < 14.18.3≥ 15.0 and < 15.*≥ 16.0 and < 16.13.2
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Nodejs Node.js ≥ 17.0.0 and < 17.3.1≥ 16.0.0 and < 16.13.2≥ 14.0.0 and < 14.18.3< 12.22.9 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Graalvm version 22.0.0.2version 21.3.1version 20.3.5 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Mysql Cluster version 8.0.29< 8.0.29 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Mysql Connectors ≤ 8.0.28 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Mysql Enterprise Monitor ≤ 8.0.29 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Mysql Server ≥ 8.0.0 and ≤ 8.0.28≤ 5.7.37 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Mysql Workbench ≤ 8.0.28 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Peoplesoft Enterprise Peopletools version 8.59version 8.58 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
5.3 CVSS 3.1 Medium 3.9 1.4 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.0 CVSS 2.0 Medium 10.0 2.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-295 · Improper Certificate Validation

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 9.36%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Check TLS negotiations and unexpected certificates in the component’s traffic.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · nodejs/node
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 5.3
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • 2022
  • CVE published
    Feb 24, 2022 · hackerone

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

6 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Debian
every CVE for this vendor
Cryptography
same class
CWE-295
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-12996 A use-after-free in OpenVPN 2.6.0 through 2.6.20 and 2.7_alpha1 through 2.7.4 allows remote... Jul 30, 2026
  • CVE-2026-48936 Improper Access Control in Nodejs Node.js Jun 25, 2026
  • CVE-2026-48935 Incorrect Default Permissions in Nodejs Node.js Jun 25, 2026
  • CVE-2026-48933 Integer Overflow or Wraparound in Nodejs Node.js Jun 25, 2026
  • CVE-2026-48934 Improper Certificate Validation in Nodejs Node.js Jun 25, 2026
  • CVE-2026-48619 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in Nodejs Node.js Jun 25, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2021-44533 is "Improper Certificate Validation in Debian Debian Linux", rated Medium. It affects Debian Linux (Debian); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.3 describes technical severity. EPSS 9.36% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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