{"id":"CVE-2026-81697","summary":"openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 KDF Downgrade via CWD-relative Configuration","details":"openssl_encrypt (pip package openssl-encrypt) versions \u003c= 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.","aliases":["GHSA-7j2v-g84w-m75v"],"modified":"2026-09-02T03:30:42.444949890Z","published":"2026-08-27T14:51:00.542Z","database_specific":{"cwe_ids":["CWE-426"],"osv_generated_from":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/81xxx/CVE-2026-81697.json","cna_assigner":"VulnCheck"},"references":[{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/81xxx/CVE-2026-81697.json"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/jahlives/openssl_encrypt/security/advisories/GHSA-7j2v-g84w-m75v"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-81697"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openssl-encrypt-before-1.4.9-kdf-downgrade-via-cwd-relative-configuration"}],"affected":[{"ranges":[{"type":"GIT","repo":"https://github.com/jahlives/openssl_encrypt","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"39b0a010cae90520f74b7194f61fedd43af04ef8"}],"database_specific":{"extracted_events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"1.4.9"}],"source":"AFFECTED_FIELD"}}],"versions":["v1.4.7","v1.4.6","v1.4.5","v1.4.4","v1.4.2","v1.4.1rc2","v1.4.1rc1","v1.4.0"],"database_specific":{"source":"https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2026-81697.json"}}],"schema_version":"1.9.0","severity":[{"type":"CVSS_V4","score":"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"}]}