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GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 — openssl-encrypt

Fix: jahlives/openssl_encrypt@963d0d1

GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 is a CWE-426 vulnerability in openssl-encrypt. A fix is available for openssl-encrypt — see the affected versions and patch details below.

openssl-encrypt: Dynamic .so loading for Whirlpool uses broad glob pattern without integrity verification

Also known asCVE-2026-74872PYSEC-2026-3742
Published
Mar 31, 2026
Updated
Sep 1, 2026
Affected
1 pkg
Patched
1 / 1
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Sep 21, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

  • CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
  • A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
  • CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
0.5%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs39th percentile — riskier than 39% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected
🐍openssl-encrypt

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Severity: HIGH

Summary

The Whirlpool hash implementation in openssl_encrypt/modules/registry/hash_registry.py at lines 570-589 uses glob patterns to find .so modules in site-packages and loads the first match via importlib without verifying module integrity.

Affected Code

for site_pkg in site.getsitepackages():
    pattern = os.path.join(site_pkg, "whirlpool*py313*.so")
    py313_modules = glob.glob(pattern)
    if py313_modules:
        module_path = py313_modules[0]  # Takes first match
        loader = ExtensionFileLoader("whirlpool", module_path)
        spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location("whirlpool", module_path, loader=loader)
        whirlpool_module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
        spec.loader.exec_module(whirlpool_module)

Impact

The glob pattern "whirlpool*py313*.so" is broad and takes the first match without verifying:

  • File hash/signature
  • File ownership/permissions
  • Whether it's a legitimate module

If an attacker can place a malicious .so file matching this pattern in any site-packages directory, it will be loaded and native code executed.

Recommended Fix

  • Verify the module's integrity (hash or signature) before loading
  • Use a specific filename rather than a glob pattern
  • Check file permissions and ownership

Fix

Fixed in commit 963d0d1 on branch releases/1.4.x — added os.path.realpath() to resolve symlinks and validation that found .so files are within known site-packages directories before loading.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
🐍PyPIopenssl-encryptall versions1.4.0pip install --upgrade 'openssl-encrypt==1.4.0'

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for openssl-encrypt, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

  2. Fix

    Update openssl-encrypt to 1.4.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. Workarounds

    If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

  4. How O3 protects you

    O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

## Severity: HIGH ### Summary The Whirlpool hash implementation in `openssl_encrypt/modules/registry/hash_registry.py` at **lines 570-589** uses glob patterns to find `.so` modules in site-packages and loads the first match via `importlib` without verifying module integrity. ### Affected Code ```python for site_pkg in site.getsitepackages(): pattern = os.path.join(site_pkg, "whirlpool*py313*.so") py313_modules = glob.glob(pattern) if py313_modules: module_path = py313_modules[0] # Takes first match loader = ExtensionFileLoader("whirlpool", module_path)
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

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GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9: openssl-encrypt | O3 Security