Vulnerability · Published Aug 17, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck

CVE-2026-74872openssl_encrypt before 1.4.0 Arbitrary Code Execution via Whirlpool

Critical 9.8

In plain English

A critical-severity security flaw in openssl_encrypt from jahlives. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.7% (higher than 53% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)9.8Critical

Exploit odds (30 days)0.7%top 47.5% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.0 contain an arbitrary code execution vulnerability in the Whirlpool hash implementation that uses broad glob patterns to load .so modules without integrity verification. Attackers can place malicious .so files matching the whirlpool*py313*.so pattern in site-packages directories to achieve native code execution when the module is loaded.

Affected packages & fixed versions

Ecosystem	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
PyPI	openssl-encrypt	1.4.0	GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9
PyPI	openssl-encrypt	1.4.0	PYSEC-2026-3742

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
jahlives	openssl_encrypt	0 – before 1.4.0

Weakness: CWE-426 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9) vendor-advisory
VulnCheck Advisory: openssl_encrypt before 1.4.0 Arbitrary Code Execution via Whirlpool third-party-advisory