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NVD / CVE Program· CNA VulnCheck

CVE-2026-81703: openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Authentication Bypass via Unencrypted PQC Key

HighCVSS 8.7 · v4.0—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 34/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.22% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
  • Fixed version: jahlives openssl_encrypt 1.4.9.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to jahlives openssl_encrypt 1.4.9 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.9 fail to validate encryption status of embedded post-quantum private keys in file metadata. Attackers can craft files with unencrypted embedded PQC keys that decrypt under any password, bypassing authentication and producing attacker-chosen plaintext with false integrity verification.

Published
Aug 27, 2026
Updated
Oct 1, 2026
EPSS
0.2% · 13th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

34

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
34 / 40 · 8.7 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.2%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · VulnCheck
8.7
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

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

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2026-81703

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
jahlivesopenssl encrypt

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (VulnCheck). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • jahlives openssl_encrypt

    • 1.4.9not affected
    • before 1.4.9affected · semver

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • jahlives openssl encryptbefore 1.4.9

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
PyPIopenssl-encryptbefore 1.4.91.4.9

Same product

jahlives: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-81719openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Remote Code Execution via Plugin
    37Monitor
  • CVE-2026-81717openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Integrity Bypass via Added Files
    37Monitor
  • CVE-2026-81714openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Plugin Signing Trust Anchor Enrollment Bypass
    37Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-81701Aug 27, 2026 · openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Arbitrary Code Execution via unsigned plugin
    37Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-81702Aug 27, 2026 · openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Key Substitution via Identity Load
    37Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-81704Aug 27, 2026 · openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Weak Key Derivation via D-Bus
    34Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
jahlives openssl_encrypt1.4.9Vendor (CNA)
PyPI:openssl-encrypt1.4.9Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2026-7489410 days apartopenssl_encrypt before 1.4.0 Authentication Bypass via Bearer Token
    37Monitor

Not on record for this CVE: patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
X

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-287 · Improper Authentication

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/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

nvd-secondary

Root cause

Authentication is added route by route instead of being enforced in one place. When a route added later bypasses the shared middleware, the session check never runs for it.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-287 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

ts
app.use("/admin", requireSession, adminRouter);
// Route added later skips the middlewareapp.post("/admin-api/config", updateConfig);

Fixed

ts
const admin = express.Router();admin.use(requireSession, requireRole("admin"));
admin.post("/config", updateConfig);app.use("/admin", admin);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records