FKIE_CVE-2026-81697
Vulnerability from fkie_nvd - Published: 2026-08-27 17:20 - Updated: 2026-08-27 17:20
Severity
Summary
openssl_encrypt (pip package openssl-encrypt) versions <= 1.4.8 contain a CWD-relative configuration file resolution flaw in crypt_settings.py, where CONFIG_FILE (originally the absolute per-user path ~/.crypt_settings.json) is reassigned at line 84 to the bare relative name 'crypt_settings.json'. As a result, the legacy Tk GUI's SettingsTab reads and writes KDF settings from crypt_settings.json in the process launch (current working) directory instead of the user's home directory. An attacker who plants a malicious crypt_settings.json (e.g. sha256:1 with all memory-hard KDFs disabled) can silently downgrade encryption performed in that GUI session to roughly one hash round, bypassing the weak-KDF preflight and enabling offline brute-force attacks against the resulting ciphertext. Fixed in 1.4.9.
References
Impacted products
| Vendor | Product | Version |
|---|
{
"affected": [
{
"affectedData": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"packageURL": "pkg:pypi/openssl-encrypt",
"product": "openssl_encrypt",
"vendor": "jahlives",
"versions": [
{
"lessThan": "1.4.9",
"status": "affected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "1.4.9",
"versionType": "semver"
}
]
}
],
"source": "disclosure@vulncheck.com"
}
],
"cveTags": [],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "openssl_encrypt (pip package openssl-encrypt) versions \u003c= 1.4.8 contain a CWD-relative configuration file resolution flaw in crypt_settings.py, where CONFIG_FILE (originally the absolute per-user path ~/.crypt_settings.json) is reassigned at line 84 to the bare relative name \u0027crypt_settings.json\u0027. As a result, the legacy Tk GUI\u0027s SettingsTab reads and writes KDF settings from crypt_settings.json in the process launch (current working) directory instead of the user\u0027s home directory. An attacker who plants a malicious crypt_settings.json (e.g. sha256:1 with all memory-hard KDFs disabled) can silently downgrade encryption performed in that GUI session to roughly one hash round, bypassing the weak-KDF preflight and enabling offline brute-force attacks against the resulting ciphertext. Fixed in 1.4.9."
}
],
"id": "CVE-2026-81697",
"lastModified": "2026-08-27T17:20:59.893",
"metrics": {
"cvssMetricV31": [
{
"cvssData": {
"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"attackVector": "LOCAL",
"availabilityImpact": "NONE",
"baseScore": 5.5,
"baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
"confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
"integrityImpact": "HIGH",
"privilegesRequired": "NONE",
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"userInteraction": "REQUIRED",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N",
"version": "3.1"
},
"exploitabilityScore": 1.8,
"impactScore": 3.6,
"source": "disclosure@vulncheck.com",
"type": "Primary"
}
],
"cvssMetricV40": [
{
"cvssData": {
"Automatable": "NOT_DEFINED",
"Recovery": "NOT_DEFINED",
"Safety": "NOT_DEFINED",
"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"attackRequirements": "NONE",
"attackVector": "NETWORK",
"availabilityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
"baseScore": 8.7,
"baseSeverity": "HIGH",
"confidentialityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
"exploitMaturity": "NOT_DEFINED",
"integrityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
"modifiedAttackComplexity": "NOT_DEFINED",
"modifiedAttackRequirements": "NOT_DEFINED",
"modifiedAttackVector": "NOT_DEFINED",
"modifiedPrivilegesRequired": "NOT_DEFINED",
"modifiedSubAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
"modifiedSubConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
"modifiedSubIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
"modifiedUserInteraction": "NOT_DEFINED",
"modifiedVulnAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
"modifiedVulnConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
"modifiedVulnIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
"privilegesRequired": "NONE",
"providerUrgency": "NOT_DEFINED",
"subAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
"subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
"subIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"valueDensity": "NOT_DEFINED",
"vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X",
"version": "4.0",
"vulnAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
"vulnConfidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
"vulnIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
"vulnerabilityResponseEffort": "NOT_DEFINED"
},
"source": "disclosure@vulncheck.com",
"type": "Secondary"
}
]
},
"published": "2026-08-27T17:20:59.893",
"references": [
{
"source": "disclosure@vulncheck.com",
"url": "https://github.com/jahlives/openssl_encrypt/security/advisories/GHSA-7j2v-g84w-m75v"
},
{
"source": "disclosure@vulncheck.com",
"url": "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openssl-encrypt-before-1.4.9-kdf-downgrade-via-cwd-relative-configuration"
}
],
"sourceIdentifier": "disclosure@vulncheck.com",
"vulnStatus": "Received",
"weaknesses": [
{
"description": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "CWE-426"
}
],
"source": "disclosure@vulncheck.com",
"type": "Primary"
}
]
}
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Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
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The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
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