CVE-2021-44144 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.1) Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability in asterix-decoder. A fix is available for asterix-decoder — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Asterix Heap-based Buffer Overflow
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
asterix-decoderReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Croatia Control Asterix 2.8.1 has a heap-based buffer over-read, with additional details to be disclosed at a later date.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | asterix-decoder | all versions | 0.7.2pip install --upgrade 'asterix-decoder==0.7.2' |
Affected Products
asterixcrocontrolDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for asterix-decoder, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update asterix-decoder to 0.7.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-44144 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Constrain what reaches the vulnerable code: limit the size and shape of untrusted input, isolate the affected component in a sandboxed or least-privileged process, and enable the platform's memory-safety mitigations (ASLR, stack protector, hardened allocator) so an out-of-bounds access is more likely to fail closed than to be exploitable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-44144 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.