CVE-2026-74888

high

Description

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.0 use a non-standard PBKDF2 key derivation construction with iterations=1 per call in an outer loop, creating a KDF whose security properties have not been formally analyzed. Attackers can exploit this weakened key derivation to more efficiently crack passwords protecting legacy encrypted files compared to standard PBKDF2 implementations.

References

https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openssl-encrypt-before-non-standard-pbkdf2-key-derivation

https://github.com/jahlives/openssl_encrypt/security/advisories/GHSA-743f-89fg-x288

Details

Source: Mitre, NVD

Published: 2026-08-17

Updated: 2026-08-17

Risk Information

CVSS v2

Base Score: 7.8

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N

Severity: High

CVSS v3

Base Score: 7.5

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Severity: High

CVSS v4

Base Score: 8.7

Vector: 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

Severity: High