CVE-2026-81703

MEDIUMPre-NVD 5.55.5—
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score 5.5 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: HIGH) published 2026-08-27. a secondary CVSS source baseline 5.5; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, secondary
Trending — 3 sources updated this week
5.5EG
EchelonGraph verdictMonitorLow exploitation likelihood right now — keep watching.
  • Lower severity and no public exploit yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0%CVSS: 5.5Exploit: None knownExposed: 0

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

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.

CVSS v3
5.5
EG Score
5.5(high)
EG Risk
40(Track)
EG Risk 40/100SSVC: 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
Severity55% × 45%
Exploitation0% × 40%
Automatability100% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
0%
EPSS %ILE
5%
KEV
Not listed

Published

August 27, 2026

Last Modified

September 1, 2026

Advisory Details (2)

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

openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Authentication Bypass via Unencrypted PQC Key | Advisories | VulnCheck

https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openssl-encrypt-before-1.4.9-authentication-bypass-via-unencrypted-pqc-key
github Patch Available

Crafted file with an unencrypted embedded post-quantum private key decrypts under any password · Advisory · jahlives/openssl_encrypt · GitHub

https://github.com/jahlives/openssl_encrypt/security/advisories/GHSA-qqfq-g2cv-j7v3

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-81703(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 18× in last 7d / 64× 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 19:52 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-09-18 19:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-09-18 19:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-09-17 20:54 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-09-17 20:54 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 18:29 UTCEG score recompute
  11. 2026-09-15 18:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-09-15 03:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-09-15 03:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-09-14 18:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-09-13 19:51 UTCEG score recompute
  16. 2026-09-13 19:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-09-12 20:53 UTCEG score recompute
  18. 2026-09-12 20:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-09-11 21:55 UTCEG score recompute
  20. 2026-09-11 21:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-09-10 22:57 UTCEG score recompute
  22. 2026-09-10 22:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-09-09 23:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-09-09 00:41 UTCEG score recompute
  25. 2026-09-09 00:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
Show 39 more
  1. 2026-09-08 22:01 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-09-07 15:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-09-06 16:41 UTCEG score recompute
  4. 2026-09-06 16:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-09-06 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-09-05 17:43 UTCEG score recompute
  7. 2026-09-05 17:43 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-09-05 15:31 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-09-04 18:44 UTCEG score recompute
  10. 2026-09-04 18:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-09-04 05:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-09-03 19:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-09-02 20:29 UTCEG score recompute
  14. 2026-09-02 20:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-09-02 14:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-09-01 18:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-09-01 16:12 UTCEG score recompute
  18. 2026-09-01 16:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-09-01 13:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-09-01 04:40 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-09-01 04:40 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-08-31 17:12 UTCEG score recompute
  23. 2026-08-31 17:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-08-30 19:18 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-08-30 19:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-08-30 17:02 UTCEG score recompute
  27. 2026-08-30 17:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  28. 2026-08-30 01:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-08-29 18:04 UTCEG score recompute
  30. 2026-08-29 18:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  31. 2026-08-28 21:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  32. 2026-08-28 19:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  33. 2026-08-27 20:27 UTCEG score recompute
  34. 2026-08-27 20:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
  35. 2026-08-27 20:17 UTCEG score recompute
  36. 2026-08-27 20:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-08-27 17:25 UTCEG score recompute
  38. 2026-08-27 16:47 UTCEG score recompute
  39. 2026-08-27 16:43 UTCMITRE cvelistV5first tracked

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-81703?
CVE-2026-81703 is a medium vulnerability published on August 27, 2026. 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…
When was CVE-2026-81703 disclosed?
CVE-2026-81703 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on August 27, 2026, with the most recent update on September 1, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2026-81703 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-81703 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 94.8% of all scored CVEs.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-81703?
CVE-2026-81703 has a CVSS v3 base score of 5.5 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-81703?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-81703, 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-2026-81703

Explore →

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