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GHSA-h3m5-p59h-x88p

MediumCVSS 6.6 / 10
Published Mar 31, 2026·Last modified Mar 31, 2026
Affected Components(0)

No affected components available

Description

Summary

Passwords passed via the --password / -p CLI argument in openssl_encrypt/modules/crypt_cli_subparser.py at lines 150-154 are visible to any user on the system via ps aux or /proc/[pid]/cmdline.

Affected Code

subparser.add_argument(
    "--password", "-p",
    help="Password (will prompt if not provided, or use CRYPT_PASSWORD environment variable)",
)

Similarly, --keystore-password exposes the keystore password.

Impact

On multi-user systems, any user can observe the encryption password by listing processes. The CRYPT_PASSWORD environment variable alternative is also visible via /proc/[pid]/environ (though with slightly restricted access).

Recommended Fix

  • Document the security implications prominently
  • Recommend interactive prompting (already supported) as the secure default
  • Consider supporting password file descriptors (--password-fd) or reading from stdin
  • Consider marking the argument as deprecated in favor of interactive prompting

Fix

Fixed in commit e78a366 on branch releases/1.4.x — added --password-file and --password-fd arguments; added OPENSSL_ENCRYPT_PASSWORD env var support; --password now emits deprecation warning.

Risk Scores
Base Score
6.6

The vulnerability can be exploited over the network without needing physical access. It is easy for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker does not need any special privileges or access rights. No user interaction is needed for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability.

Threat Intelligence
6.6

Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.

EPSS
N/A

Probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days.

Exploit
Not available

We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.

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Medium severity
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