CVE-2026-81689 HIGH

CVE-2026-81689: openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Weak Pepper Key Derivation

Vendor Jahlives
Product openssl_encrypt
Weakness CWE-916
Published August 27, 2026
Last update August 28, 2026
View on NVD All CVEs

CVSS base score

8.7/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality —
Integrity —

CVSS vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

What the vulnerability does

01Description

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.9 derive the remote-pepper wrap key using unsalted HKDF-SHA256 or bare SHA-256 of the password, allowing identical keys across all users and files. Attackers with access to wrapped pepper blobs can precompute a single dictionary table and perform fleet-wide offline password guessing at hardware speed to recover user passwords.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

August 27, 2026 CVE published
August 28, 2026 Record updated