PYSEC-2026-3796
Vulnerability from pysec - Published: 2026-08-27 17:20 - Updated: 2026-09-03 10:37openssl-encrypt (pip package) before 1.4.9 contains a symlink-following flaw in its verify-usb v2 added-file allowlist scan. The scan enumerated the drive with rglob(), which in CPython does not descend into symlinked directories and treats the symlink as an ordinary directory, while O_NOFOLLOW on the hash side binds only the final path component. An evil-maid attacker with physical access to the removable drive could replace a tool-tree directory with a symlink to a copy containing byte-identical files plus a planted pycache/*.pyc file (which CPython loads in preference to recompiling the clean .py). The planted file is never enumerated, added_files stays 0, and verify-usb reports PASSED, resulting in code execution when the victim runs the portable install. Fixed in 1.4.9 (affects both 1.4.x and 1.5.x lines).
| Name | purl | openssl-encrypt | pkg:pypi/openssl-encrypt |
|---|
{
"affected": [
{
"ecosystem_specific": {},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "PyPI",
"name": "openssl-encrypt",
"purl": "pkg:pypi/openssl-encrypt"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1.4.9"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
],
"versions": [
"0.2.2",
"0.2.3",
"0.2.4",
"0.2.5",
"0.2.6",
"0.3.0",
"0.3.1",
"0.3.2",
"0.3.3",
"0.4.0",
"0.4.1",
"0.4.2",
"0.4.3",
"0.4.4",
"0.5.0",
"0.5.1",
"0.5.3",
"0.6.0rc1",
"0.7.0rc2",
"0.7.1",
"0.7.2",
"0.8.0",
"0.8.1",
"0.8.2",
"0.9.2",
"1.0.0",
"1.0.1",
"1.0.2",
"1.0.3",
"1.1.0",
"1.2.0",
"1.2.1",
"1.3.0",
"1.3.1",
"1.3.2",
"1.3.3",
"1.3.4",
"1.3.5",
"1.4.0",
"1.4.0b3",
"1.4.0b4",
"1.4.0b5",
"1.4.0b6",
"1.4.0b7",
"1.4.0b8",
"1.4.1",
"1.4.1rc2",
"1.4.2",
"1.4.4",
"1.4.5",
"1.4.6",
"1.4.7",
"1.4.8"
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-81690",
"GHSA-hw7h-wqf5-6crx"
],
"details": "openssl-encrypt (pip package) before 1.4.9 contains a symlink-following flaw in its verify-usb v2 added-file allowlist scan. The scan enumerated the drive with rglob(), which in CPython does not descend into symlinked directories and treats the symlink as an ordinary directory, while O_NOFOLLOW on the hash side binds only the final path component. An evil-maid attacker with physical access to the removable drive could replace a tool-tree directory with a symlink to a copy containing byte-identical files plus a planted __pycache__/*.pyc file (which CPython loads in preference to recompiling the clean .py). The planted file is never enumerated, added_files stays 0, and verify-usb reports PASSED, resulting in code execution when the victim runs the portable install. Fixed in 1.4.9 (affects both 1.4.x and 1.5.x lines).",
"id": "PYSEC-2026-3796",
"modified": "2026-09-03T10:37:18.189977Z",
"published": "2026-08-27T17:20:58.843Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://github.com/jahlives/openssl_encrypt/security/advisories/GHSA-hw7h-wqf5-6crx"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/verify-usb-before-1.4.9-symlink-directory-traversal-code-execution"
}
],
"severity": [
{
"score": "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/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",
"type": "CVSS_V4"
}
]
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.