Vulnerability in Jahlives OpenSSL Encrypt
CVE-2026-81689
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.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.003 (18.0th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 18th percentile — 18.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.003 · change: +0.001
Affected products
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-3v63-778v-3mvp) (vendor-advisory, Vendor Advisory)
- VulnCheck Advisory: openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Weak Pepper Key Derivation (Third Party Advisory, third-party-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-81689?
- CVE-2026-81689 is a high-severity vulnerability in Jahlives OpenSSL Encrypt, classified under Use of Password Hash With Insufficient Computational Effort. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2026-08-27.
- How severe is CVE-2026-81689?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.