{"id":"CVE-2026-81689","title":"openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Weak Pepper Key Derivation","summary":"openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.9 derive the remote-pepper wrap key using unsalted HKDF-SHA256 or bare SHA-256 of the password, allowing identical keys across all users and files. Attackers with access to wrapped pepper blobs can pre…","severity":"high","cvss":7.5,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","cvssSource":"cna","cwe":["CWE-916"],"vendor":"jahlives","product":"openssl_encrypt","affected":["openssl_encrypt < 1.4.9"],"ssvc":{"exploitation":"none","automatable":"yes","technicalImpact":"partial","timestamp":"2026-08-27T18:38:50.371056Z"},"published":"2026-08-27","updated":"2026-10-01","sourceUpdated":"2026-10-01T15:21:22.785Z","source":"CVEORG","sourceUrl":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-81689","references":[{"url":"https://github.com/jahlives/openssl_encrypt/security/advisories/GHSA-3v63-778v-3mvp","label":"GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-3v63-778v-3mvp)"},{"url":"https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openssl-encrypt-before-1.4.9-weak-pepper-key-derivation","label":"VulnCheck Advisory: openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Weak Pepper Key Derivation"}],"tags":["cve.org","osv","pip"],"epss":0.00272,"epssPercentile":0.19403,"aliases":["PYSEC-2026-3959","GHSA-3v63-778v-3mvp"],"ecosystem":"pip","patched":["openssl-encrypt 1.4.9"],"ingestedAt":"2026-09-12T03:13:01.743Z","slug":"CVE-2026-81689","body":"## Overview\n\nopenssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.9 derive the remote-pepper wrap key using unsalted HKDF-SHA256 or bare SHA-256 of the password, allowing identical keys across all users and files. Attackers with access to wrapped pepper blobs can precompute a single dictionary table and perform fleet-wide offline password guessing at hardware speed to recover user passwords.\n\n## Affected\n\n- `openssl_encrypt < 1.4.9`\n\n## Remediation\n\nRefer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.\n\n## Package advisory (CVE-2026-81689)\n\nAffected packages:\n\n- `openssl-encrypt < 1.4.9`\n\nPatched in:\n\n- `openssl-encrypt 1.4.9`\n\nSource: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/PYSEC-2026-3959","depth":"twilight","depthScore":41,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":41.3,"likelihood":0.1,"exploitation":0,"ransomware":0},"changes":[{"seq":214415,"id":"CVE-2026-81689","ts":1790869816648,"field":"cvss","old":null,"new":"7.5"},{"seq":214414,"id":"CVE-2026-81689","ts":1790869816648,"field":"severity","old":"none","new":"high"}]}