CVE-2026-81689

HIGH 7.5

openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Weak Pepper Key Derivation

CVSS Score

7.5

EPSS Score

0.0%

EPSS Percentile

0th

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 precompute a single dictionary table and perform fleet-wide offline password guessing at hardware speed to recover user passwords.

CWE	CWE-916
Vendor	jahlives
Product	openssl_encrypt
Published	Aug 27, 2026

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CVSS v3 Breakdown

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

Affected Versions

jahlives / openssl_encrypt

0 < 1.4.9

References

NVD ↗ CVE.org ↗ EPSS Data ↗

github.com: https://github.com/jahlives/openssl_encrypt/security/advisories/GHSA-3v63-778v-3mvp vulncheck.com: https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openssl-encrypt-before-1.4.9-weak-pepper-key-derivation