Vulnerability · Published Aug 27, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck

CVE-2026-81680openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Authentication Bypass via Recovery Slot Removal

Medium 4.0

In plain English

A medium-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 0.2% (higher than 10% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)4.0Medium

Exploit odds (30 days)0.2%top 89.5% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.9 fail to authenticate recovery-slot presence in envelope-format encrypted files, allowing attackers to remove recovery slots without re-encrypting the payload. Attackers can modify the file header to delete recovery-slot fields and bypass authentication, silently removing recovery paths the owner deliberately added.

Affected packages & fixed versions

Ecosystem	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
PyPI	openssl-encrypt	1.4.9	PYSEC-2026-3957

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
jahlives	openssl_encrypt	0 – before 1.4.9

Weakness: CWE-347 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

References

GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-grhj-cpmg-f5mx) vendor-advisory
VulnCheck Advisory: openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Authentication Bypass via Recovery Slot Removal third-party-advisory