Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-81688

Jahlives Openssl Encrypt ≤ 1.4.9

Public PoC
Published
27 August 2026
Modified
02 September 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v4 8.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS: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
EPSS Score 0.0020 10th percentile
Risk Priority 43 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2026-81688 is a high-severity Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data (CWE-311) vulnerability in Jahlives Openssl Encrypt. Its CVSS base score is 8.7 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Network Sniffing (T1040); ranked at the 10th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SC-13 (Cryptographic Protection) and SC-28 (Protection of Information at Rest) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A06:2025 Insecure Design

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.9 store an unkeyed SHA-256 hash of the plaintext in the cleartext file header metadata. Attackers can read this hash without the password to confirm guessed plaintexts offline or fingerprint identical plaintexts across separately-encrypted files.

CWE(s)
CWE-311

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1040 Network Sniffing Credential Access
Adversaries may passively sniff network traffic to capture information about an environment, including authentication material passed over the network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552.004 Private Keys Credential Access
Adversaries may search for private key certificate files on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
attack.mitre.org →
T1111 Multi-Factor Authentication Interception Credential Access
Adversaries may target multi-factor authentication (MFA) mechanisms, (i.
attack.mitre.org →
T1539 Steal Web Session Cookie Credential Access
An adversary may steal web application or service session cookies and use them to gain access to web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1557 Adversary-in-the-Middle Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to position themselves between two or more networked devices using an adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) technique to support follow-on behaviors such as [Network Sniffing](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-81681Same product: Jahlives Openssl Encrypt
CVE-2026-74888Same product: Jahlives Openssl Encrypt
CVE-2026-81683Same product: Jahlives Openssl Encrypt
CVE-2026-81703Same product: Jahlives Openssl Encrypt
CVE-2026-74894Same product: Jahlives Openssl Encrypt
CVE-2026-81691Same product: Jahlives Openssl Encrypt
CVE-2026-74880Same product: Jahlives Openssl Encrypt
CVE-2026-74889Same product: Jahlives Openssl Encrypt
CVE-2026-74881Same product: Jahlives Openssl Encrypt
CVE-2026-81715Same product: Jahlives Openssl Encrypt

Affected Assets

jahlives
openssl encrypt
≤ 1.4.9

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 7 hardening rules · 7 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

—

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SC-13 Cryptographic Protection good match

SC-13 mandates use of specific cryptography, structurally preventing unencrypted sensitive data.

SC-28 Protection of Information at Rest good match

SC-28 requires cryptographic protection of information at rest, eliminating the storage half of the weakness.

SC-8 Transmission Confidentiality and Integrity good match

SC-8 requires protecting confidentiality of transmitted information, directly stopping missing encryption on the wire.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.DS-01 mostly match
prevents

PR.DS-01 directly mandates encryption for data-at-rest and therefore prevents CWE-311 mostly for storage, yet the weakness also spans transmission and other contexts that this single at-rest control leaves unaddressed.

PR.DS-02 partial match
prevents

PR.DS-02 directly eliminates the transmission facet of CWE-311 via mandatory encryption but leaves the storage facet untouched, so each direction rates only partial.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
prevents

Explicit rules requiring encryption for sensitive information in transit eliminate the weakness of sending data without cryptographic protection.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Explicitly calling for protection of data in transit and at rest, plus secure encryption of communications, drives the implementation of encryption that prevents clear-text exposure of sensitive information.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248525 All OL 8 local disk partitions must implement cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure or modification of all information that requires at-rest protection. prevents CWE-311
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271756 OL 9 local disk partitions must implement cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure or modification of all information that requires at rest protection. prevents CWE-311
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230224 All RHEL 8 local disk partitions must implement cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure or modification of all information that requires at rest protection. prevents CWE-311
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257879 RHEL 9 local disk partitions must implement cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure or modification of all information that requires at rest protection. prevents CWE-311
Windows Server 2016 (1 rule)
  • V-224843 Systems requiring data at rest protections must employ cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure and modification of the information at rest. prevents CWE-311
Windows Server 2019 (1 rule)
  • V-205727 Windows Server 2019 systems requiring data at rest protections must employ cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure and modification of the information at rest. prevents CWE-311

References