CVE-2026-81681

MEDIUMPre-NVD 4.64.6—
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score 4.6 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: CRITICAL) published 2026-08-27. a secondary CVSS source baseline 4.6; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, secondary
Trending — 3 sources updated this week
4.6EG
EchelonGraph verdictMonitorLow exploitation likelihood right now — keep watching.
  • Lower severity and no public exploit yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0%CVSS: 4.6Exploit: None knownExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

openssl_encrypt (pip package openssl-encrypt) versions <= 1.4.8 advertise a portable USB workspace as an 'Encrypted USB Workspace' with AES-256-GCM encryption and write a marker declaring the workspace encrypted, but the workspace directory is actually stored in cleartext and the derived encryption key is never applied to it. A user who trusts the branding and places files in the workspace leaves them unencrypted on the removable media, so an attacker with physical access to the media can read the sensitive files. Fixed in 1.4.9, which seals the workspace into an authenticated AES-256-GCM vault.

CVSS v3
4.6
EG Score
4.6(high)
EG Risk
21(Track)
EG Risk 21/100SSVC: Track

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity46% × 45%
Exploitation0% × 40%
Automatability0% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
0%
EPSS %ILE
3%
KEV
Not listed

Published

August 27, 2026

Last Modified

September 2, 2026

Advisory Details (2)

Auto-updated Aug 27, 2026
Patch available. Sources: github.
generic

openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 False Encryption via Cleartext Storage | Advisories | VulnCheck

https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openssl-encrypt-before-1.4.9-false-encryption-via-cleartext-storage
github Patch Available

Portable USB workspace advertised AES-256-GCM encryption while storing files in cleartext · Advisory · jahlives/openssl_encrypt · GitHub

https://github.com/jahlives/openssl_encrypt/security/advisories/GHSA-2jv6-qqfm-m46m

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-81681(1)

These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.

Affected Packages

(1 across 1 ecosystem)
PyPI(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
openssl-encrypt0.2.2 ... 1.4.8 (53 versions)1.4.9—

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 19× in last 7d / 60× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-09-18 23:31 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-09-18 23:31 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-09-18 19:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-09-17 21:17 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-09-17 21:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-09-16 19:04 UTCEG score recompute
  7. 2026-09-16 19:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-09-16 14:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-09-16 05:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-09-15 16:23 UTCEG score recompute
  11. 2026-09-15 16:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-09-15 03:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-09-15 03:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-09-14 14:10 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-09-14 14:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-09-13 11:57 UTCEG score recompute
  17. 2026-09-13 11:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-09-12 09:44 UTCEG score recompute
  19. 2026-09-12 09:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-09-11 07:31 UTCEG score recompute
  21. 2026-09-11 07:31 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-09-10 05:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-09-09 03:04 UTCEG score recompute
  24. 2026-09-09 03:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-09-08 22:01 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 35 more
  1. 2026-09-08 00:51 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-09-08 00:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-09-06 22:38 UTCEG score recompute
  4. 2026-09-06 22:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-09-06 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-09-05 20:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-09-04 18:12 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-09-04 18:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-09-04 05:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-09-03 15:56 UTCEG score recompute
  11. 2026-09-03 15:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-09-02 14:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-09-02 13:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-09-02 04:04 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-09-02 04:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-09-01 13:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-09-01 04:40 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-09-01 04:40 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-09-01 01:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-08-30 23:32 UTCEG score recompute
  21. 2026-08-30 23:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-08-30 19:18 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-08-30 19:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-08-30 01:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-08-29 21:19 UTCEG score recompute
  26. 2026-08-29 21:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  27. 2026-08-28 21:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  28. 2026-08-28 19:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  29. 2026-08-27 20:27 UTCEG score recompute
  30. 2026-08-27 20:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
  31. 2026-08-27 20:18 UTCEG score recompute
  32. 2026-08-27 20:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  33. 2026-08-27 17:25 UTCEG score recompute
  34. 2026-08-27 16:47 UTCEG score recompute
  35. 2026-08-27 16:43 UTCMITRE cvelistV5first tracked

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-81681?
CVE-2026-81681 is a medium vulnerability published on August 27, 2026. openssl_encrypt (pip package openssl-encrypt) versions <= 1.4.8 advertise a portable USB workspace as an 'Encrypted USB Workspace' with AES-256-GCM encryption and write a marker declaring the workspace encrypted, but the workspace directory is actually stored in cleartext and the derived encryption…
When was CVE-2026-81681 disclosed?
CVE-2026-81681 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on August 27, 2026, with the most recent update on September 2, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2026-81681 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-81681 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 0% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the top 96.9% of all scored CVEs.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-81681?
CVE-2026-81681 has a CVSS v3 base score of 4.6 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-81681?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-81681, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2026-81681

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