How severe is GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9?

No CVSS score has been assigned to GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9?

GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 affects the following packages: openssl-encrypt (PyPI). Ecosystems affected: PyPI.

How do I fix GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9?

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.

How do I detect GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 in my PyPI dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for openssl-encrypt. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

How does O3 Security protect against GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9?

O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

When was GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 was published on March 31, 2026 and was last updated on March 31, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐍 PyPI

GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9

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

Published

Mar 31, 2026

Updated

Mar 31, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Blast Radius

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

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐍PyPI	`openssl-encrypt`	all versions	1.4.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for openssl-encrypt. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
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.
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.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

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 detects GHSA-j48q-4c78-rhf9 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works