Vulnerability · Published Aug 27, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck

CVE-2026-81706openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Key Substitution via Identity Shadowing

Medium 6.8

In plain English

A medium-severity insufficient verification of data authenticity 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 8% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)6.8Medium

Exploit odds (30 days)0.2%top 92.3% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 fails to prevent namespace collisions between own identities and contacts in IdentityStore, allowing attackers to create shadowed contact entries invisible until the corresponding own identity is deleted. When the own identity is deleted, the shadowed contact becomes visible and resolves to the attacker's keys, enabling silent key substitution for encrypted files.

Affected packages & fixed versions

Ecosystem	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
PyPI	openssl-encrypt	1.4.9	PYSEC-2026-3781

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
jahlives	openssl_encrypt	0 – before 1.4.9

Weakness: CWE-345 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

References

GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-8gmx-w9m8-vx7q) vendor-advisory
VulnCheck Advisory: openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Key Substitution via Identity Shadowing third-party-advisory