CVE-2026-74887

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.9 use under-parameterized PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 with only 100,000 iterations to protect PQC keyfile private keys and 10,000 iterations for dual-encryption file-password verification. Attackers who obtain keyfiles or encrypted files can brute-force wrapping passwords offline using GPU or ASIC acceleration.

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.

openssl_encrypt versions 1.4.8 and earlier fail to validate the 36-bit STREAMINFO total_samples field of FLAC files before using it to size an allocation. A ~50-byte crafted FLAC file declaring ~100 million samples causes a multi-gigabyte memory allocation, leading to out-of-memory denial of service during 'decrypt --stego-extract'. Fixed in 1.4.9; both 1.4.x and 1.5.x lines are affected.

openssl_encrypt before version 1.4.9 fails to enforce a time ceiling on key derivation function iteration counts specified in file metadata. Attackers can craft files with extremely high KDF iteration counts to consume CPU resources for unbounded periods before password verification occurs.

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.9 contain an insecure file permissions vulnerability in the desktop GUI that writes decrypted plaintext with world-readable default permissions. Attackers can read decrypted output files created by the GUI as unprivileged local users on multi-user systems.

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.0 contain hardcoded default JWT signing secrets in config.py that pass validation checks. Attackers with access to source code can forge valid JWT tokens for any client_id to gain authenticated access to keyserver and telemetry APIs.

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.0 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in CamelliaCipher that disables HMAC tag generation and verification when the PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST environment variable is set. Attackers with code execution can set this environment variable to produce unauthenticated ciphertext and bypass integrity protection on encrypted data.

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.0 use a non-standard PBKDF2 key derivation construction with iterations=1 per call in an outer loop, creating a KDF whose security properties have not been formally analyzed. Attackers can exploit this weakened key derivation to more efficiently crack passwords protecting legacy encrypted files compared to standard PBKDF2 implementations.

In openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.0, a logging bug in restore_hidden_modules() logs module counts after clearing, always showing zero restored modules and corrupting audit trails. Additionally, a race condition exists between module hiding and import hook installation, which in multi-threaded environments could allow another thread to re-import blocked modules.

openssl_encrypt before version 1.4.0 contains a path traversal vulnerability in the _is_safe_path method where the plugin_id parameter is not sanitized before constructing the plugin config directory path. Attackers can declare a malicious plugin_id containing path traversal sequences like '../' to access arbitrary directories outside the intended plugin directory.