Double Free in mbed TLS - CVE-2021-44732
Published: December 17, 2021 / Updated: July 13, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU59050
CSH Severity: High
CVSS v4: 8.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2021-44732
CWE-ID: CWE-415
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.
The vulnerability exists due to a boundary error. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted request to the application, trigger a double free error and execute arbitrary code on the target system.
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.
Affected software
mbed TLS
Ubuntu
mbedtls (Ubuntu package)
Ubuntu
mbedtls (Ubuntu package)
How to mitigate CVE-2021-44732
Install updates from vendor's website.
mbed TLS - addressed in versions 2.16.12, 2.28.0, 3.1.0
mbedtls (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 2.8.0-1ubuntu0.1~esm1, 2.16.4-1ubuntu2+esm1, 2.28.0-1ubuntu0.1~esm1, 2.28.8-1ubuntu0.1~esm1
mbedtls (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 2.8.0-1ubuntu0.1~esm1, 2.16.4-1ubuntu2+esm1, 2.28.0-1ubuntu0.1~esm1, 2.28.8-1ubuntu0.1~esm1