I am sure the VC developers are aware of the problem and working on a fix (there are a ton of reports over at the Steam bug report thread).
Since it is too late to block the auto-update, you have 3 options:
1) Wait for the VC devs to release a patch. I am sure this will come soon, it just takes time, especially given it is Friday.
2) Or try to find the old VC 2.044 version files (for example, steam has prior versions of some games as beta opt ins, but not sure if that works for warband)
3) Or install a large mod built on VC 2.044 that is save compatible with vanilla saves (so by installing the mod, you will roll your version back at the same time). I always feel like a hack when I link my own mod, but it does have save compatibility with vanilla: https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandbladevikingconquest/mods/5 The VC Tweaks Tool is another option, it is all set up for compiling and will roll you back to 2.036: https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,348186.0.html
Whichever option you choose, I'd suggest continuing from a save made before today's update to be safe.