CVE-2021-43568 — ecdsa-elixir
CRITICALCVE-2021-43568 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-347 vulnerability in ecdsa-elixir. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for ecdsa-elixir — see the affected versions and patch details below.
ecdsa-elixir fails to check signatures, vulnerable to message forging
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2021-43568 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
ecdsa-elixirReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Hex packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
The verify function in the Stark Bank Elixir ECDSA library (ecdsa-elixir) 1.0.0 fails to check that the signature is non-zero, which allows attackers to forge signatures on arbitrary messages.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💧Hex | ecdsa-elixir | ≥ 1.0.0&&< 1.0.1 | 1.0.1mix deps.update ecdsa-elixir |
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 ecdsa-elixir, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update ecdsa-elixir to 1.0.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-43568 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2021-43568 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2021-43568. 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-2021-43568 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2021-43568 across Hex dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.