Vulnerability · Published Aug 27, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck

CVE-2026-81683openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Plaintext Private Key Storage

High 8.4

In plain English

A high-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 0.1% (higher than 0% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)8.4High

Exploit odds (30 days)<0.1%top 100.0% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

openssl_encrypt (pip package openssl-encrypt) versions 1.4.8 and earlier store an mTLS client private key in cleartext within a world-readable (0644) SharedPreferences file via the desktop GUI's Settings screen 'combined certificate and private key' PEM field. A local attacker with file system access can read the exposed private key. Version 1.4.9 writes the PEM to a dedicated 0600 file, keeps only its path in SharedPreferences, and migrates/scrubs existing cleartext values.

Affected packages & fixed versions

Ecosystem	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
PyPI	openssl-encrypt	1.4.9	PYSEC-2026-3792

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
jahlives	openssl_encrypt	0 – before 1.4.9

Weakness: CWE-312 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-r8gw-6hfj-98jw) vendor-advisory
VulnCheck Advisory: openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Plaintext Private Key Storage third-party-advisory