diff --git a/depaudit/utils/version.py b/depaudit/utils/version.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..954f605
--- /dev/null
+++ b/depaudit/utils/version.py
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from packaging.version import Version
+from typing import Optional
+
+
+def parse_version(version_str: str) -> Optional[Version]:
+    try:
+        return Version(version_str)
+    except Exception:
+        return None
+
+
+def compare_versions(v1: str, v2: str) -> int:
+    parsed_v1 = parse_version(v1)
+    parsed_v2 = parse_version(v2)
+    if parsed_v1 is None or parsed_v2 is None:
+        return 0
+    if parsed_v1 < parsed_v2:
+        return -1
+    elif parsed_v1 > parsed_v2:
+        return 1
+    return 0
+
+
+def is_version_outdated(current: str, latest: str) -> bool:
+    return compare_versions(current, latest) < 0
+
+
+def extract_version_from_specifier(specifier: str) -> Optional[str]:
+    if not specifier:
+        return None
+    operators = ["===", "==", ">=", "<=", "~=", "!=", ">", "<", "^", "~"]
+    for op in operators:
+        if specifier.startswith(op):
+            return specifier[len(op):].strip()
+    return specifier.strip()