openssl-encrypt has non-cryptographic PRNG used for steganography pixel selectionGHSA-vfgx-5q85-58q3
Fix: jahlives/openssl_encrypt@09e96e0GHSA-vfgx-5q85-58q3 is a CWE-338 vulnerability in openssl-encrypt. A fix is available for openssl-encrypt — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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.
- 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-vfgx-5q85-58q3.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
Real-World Exposure
openssl-encryptReal-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
Summary
The generate_pseudorandom_sequence() function in openssl_encrypt/plugins/steganography/core/utils.py at lines 89-91 uses Python's random module (Mersenne Twister) for steganographic pixel/sample selection.
Affected Code
random.seed(seed)
sequence = random.sample(range(max_value), min(length, max_value))
return sequence
Additionally, the steganography password is stored as a plain Python string (not SecureBytes) and only 8 bytes (64 bits) of the SHA-256 hash are used for the seed, reducing effective security to 64 bits.
Impact
The Mersenne Twister's state can be recovered from approximately 624 outputs. An attacker who knows or guesses the password can predict the PRNG sequence and determine exactly which pixels contain hidden data, potentially extracting the hidden data without the password.
Recommended Fix
- Use HMAC-DRBG or
secretsmodule for cryptographically secure pixel selection - Use full 32-byte SHA-256 output as seed material
- Store the password in
SecureBytesinstead of a plain string
Fix
Fixed in commit 09e96e0 on branch releases/1.4.x — replaced random.seed(hash(password)) with HMAC-SHA256 based CSPRNG (Fisher-Yates shuffle) and numpy Generator with HMAC-derived seeds across all steganography format modules.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | openssl-encrypt | all versions | 1.4.0pip install --upgrade 'openssl-encrypt==1.4.0' |
Affected Products
openssl encryptjahlivesDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
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.
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-vfgx-5q85-58q3 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-vfgx-5q85-58q3 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.