CVE-2021-44531: Improper handling of URI Subject Alternative Names

Accepting arbitrary Subject Alternative Name (SAN) types, unless a PKI is specifically defined to use a particular SAN type, can result in bypassing name-constrained intermediates. Node.js < 12.22.9, < 14.18.3, < 16.13.2, and < 17.3.1 was accepting URI SAN types, which PKIs are often not defined to use. Additionally, when a protocol allows URI SANs, Node.js did not match the URI correctly.Versions of Node.js with the fix for this disable the URI SAN type when checking a certificate against a hostname. This behavior can be reverted through the --security-revert command-line option.

Accepting arbitrary Subject Alternative Name (SAN) types, unless a PKI is specifically defined to use a particular SAN type, can result in bypassing name-constrained intermediates. Node.js was accepting URI SAN types, which PKIs are often not defined to use. Additionally, when a protocol allows URI SANs, Node.js did not match the URI correctly.

Versions of Node.js with the fix for this disable the URI SAN type when checking a certificate against a hostname.

Reference: https://nodejs.org/en/blog/vulnerability/jan-2022-security-releases/

— Red Hat

Accepting arbitrary Subject Alternative Name (SAN) types, unless a PKI is specifically defined to use a particular SAN type, can result in bypassing name-constrained intermediates. Node.js was accepting URI SAN types, which PKIs are often not defined to use. Additionally, when a protocol allows URI SANs, Node.js did not match the URI correctly.

Versions of Node.js with the fix for this disable the URI SAN type when checking a certificate against a hostname. This behavior can be reverted through the --security-revert command-line option.

More details will be available at CVE-2021-44531 after publication.

This vulnerability was reported by Google.

All versions of the 17.x, 16.x, 14.x, and 12.x releases lines.

— Node.Js

Accepting arbitrary Subject Alternative Name (SAN) types, unless a PKI is specifically defined to use a particular SAN type, can result in bypassing name-constrained intermediates. Node.js was accepting URI SAN types, which PKIs are often not defined to use. Additionally, when a protocol allows URI SANs, Node.js did not match the URI correctly. See https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2021-44531 for more details.

— Node.Js

Node.js could allow a remote attacker to bypass security restrictions, caused by the improper handling of URI Subject Alternative Name (SAN) types. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to bypass name-constrained intermediates.

— IBM