Description
openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 fails to validate KDF cost parameters in encrypted file metadata and keystore headers, allowing attackers to trigger unbounded memory allocation. Attackers can craft malicious encrypted files declaring arbitrarily large Argon2, scrypt, or balloon KDF parameters to exhaust system memory and crash the process without authentication.
Published: 2026-08-27
Score: 8.7 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Jahlives
Jahlives openssl Encrypt
Vendors & Products Jahlives
Jahlives openssl Encrypt

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 16:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 fails to validate KDF cost parameters in encrypted file metadata and keystore headers, allowing attackers to trigger unbounded memory allocation. Attackers can craft malicious encrypted files declaring arbitrarily large Argon2, scrypt, or balloon KDF parameters to exhaust system memory and crash the process without authentication.
Title openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Denial of Service via KDF
Weaknesses CWE-400
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 8.7, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}


Subscriptions

Jahlives Openssl Encrypt
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: VulnCheck

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-27T19:28:47.802Z

Reserved: 2026-08-27T11:13:14.063Z

Link: CVE-2026-81721

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Undergoing Analysis

Published: 2026-08-27T17:21:02.650

Modified: 2026-08-28T18:56:34.447

Link: CVE-2026-81721

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-08-27T18:45:04Z

Weaknesses