CVE-2026-81697: Untrusted Search Path in jahlives openssl_encrypt
openssl_encrypt (pip package openssl-encrypt) versions <= 1.4.8 contain a CWD-relative configuration file resolution flaw in crypt_settings.py, where CONFIG_FILE (originally the absolute per-user path ~/.crypt_settings.json) is reassigned at line 84 to the bare relative name 'crypt_settings.json'. As a result, the legacy Tk GUI's SettingsTab reads and writes KDF settings from crypt_settings.json in the process launch (current working) directory instead of the user's home directory. An attacker who plants a malicious crypt_settings.json (e.g. sha256:1 with all memory-hard KDFs disabled) can silently downgrade encryption performed in that GUI session to roughly one hash round, bypassing the weak-KDF preflight and enabling offline brute-force attacks against the resulting ciphertext. Fixed in 1.4.9.
CVE-2026-81697: Untrusted Search Path in jahlives openssl_encrypt
Description
openssl_encrypt (pip package openssl-encrypt) versions <= 1.4.8 contain a CWD-relative configuration file resolution flaw in crypt_settings.py, where CONFIG_FILE (originally the absolute per-user path ~/.crypt_settings.json) is reassigned at line 84 to the bare relative name 'crypt_settings.json'. As a result, the legacy Tk GUI's SettingsTab reads and writes KDF settings from crypt_settings.json in the process launch (current working) directory instead of the user's home directory. An attacker who plants a malicious crypt_settings.json (e.g. sha256:1 with all memory-hard KDFs disabled) can silently downgrade encryption performed in that GUI session to roughly one hash round, bypassing the weak-KDF preflight and enabling offline brute-force attacks against the resulting ciphertext. Fixed in 1.4.9.
CVSS v4.0
Score 8.7high
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- VulnCheck
- Date Reserved
- 2026-08-27T11:12:00.890Z
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a906bb7acd9273b4983a258
Added to database: 08/27/2026, 16:54:15 UTC
Last updated: 08/28/2026, 01:00:45 UTC
Views: 8
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