CVE-2021-41167 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in modern-async. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2021-41167 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
modern-async's `forEachSeries` and `forEachLimit` functions do not limit the number of requests
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
modern-asyncnpmDescription
modern-async is an open source JavaScript tooling library for asynchronous operations using async/await and promises. In affected versions a bug affecting two of the functions in this library: forEachSeries and forEachLimit. They should limit the concurrency of some actions but, in practice, they don't. Any code calling these functions will be written thinking they would limit the concurrency but they won't. This could lead to potential security issues in other projects. The problem has been patched in 1.0.4. There is no workaround.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | modern-async | all versions | 1.0.4 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for modern-async. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update modern-async to 1.0.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-41167 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-41167 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2021-41167. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-41167 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2021-41167 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.