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CVE-2026-81681 — Vulnerability in openssl-encrypt — CVE Details

CRITICAL

Published August 27, 2026Updated September 3, 2026Source: osv

Summary

openssl_encrypt (pip package openssl-encrypt) versions <= 1.4.8 advertise a portable USB workspace as an 'Encrypted USB Workspace' with AES-256-GCM encryption and write a marker declaring the workspace encrypted, but the workspace directory is actually stored in cleartext and the derived encryption key is never applied to it. A user who trusts the branding and places files in the workspace leaves them unencrypted on the removable media, so an attacker with physical access to the media can read the sensitive files. Fixed in 1.4.9, which seals the workspace into an authenticated AES-256-GCM vault.

Advisory Timeline

  • First published August 27, 2026 (46 days ago).
  • Last revised September 3, 2026 — 7 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

pip
Update openssl-encrypt to 1.4.9 or later
pip install "openssl-encrypt>=1.4.9"

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (1)

Affects 1 ecosystem: pypi (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
openssl-encrypt
pypi
0.2.2, 0.2.3, 0.2.4, 0.2.5 (+49 more)1.4.9

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.8 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
X
Confidentiality
—
Integrity
—
Availability
—

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/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

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-81681?
This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.8/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2026-81681?
CVE-2026-81681 affects openssl-encrypt. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2026-81681 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.8

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

PYSEC-2026-3791
GHSA-2jv6-qqfm-m46m

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