CVE-2026-74888
Received Received - Intake

OpenSSL PBKDF2 Weak Key Derivation in Legacy Encryption

Publication date: 2026-08-17

Last updated on: 2026-08-17

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description
openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.0 use a non-standard PBKDF2 key derivation construction with iterations=1 per call in an outer loop, creating a KDF whose security properties have not been formally analyzed. Attackers can exploit this weakened key derivation to more efficiently crack passwords protecting legacy encrypted files compared to standard PBKDF2 implementations.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-17
Last Modified
2026-08-17
Generated
2026-08-17
AI Q&A
2026-08-17
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-74888
EUVD
EUVD-2026-60107

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
openssl openssl_encrypt to 1.4.0 (exc)

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Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-327 The product uses a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm or protocol.

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability affects openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.0. It uses a non-standard PBKDF2 key derivation method with iterations set to 1 per call in an outer loop. This construction has not been formally analyzed for security properties and allows attackers to more efficiently crack passwords protecting legacy encrypted files compared to standard PBKDF2 implementations.

Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, check the version of openssl_encrypt installed on your system. If the version is below 1.4.0, your system is vulnerable. Run: pip show openssl_encrypt or pip list | grep openssl_encrypt to verify the installed version.

Impact Analysis

Attackers could exploit this to crack passwords protecting legacy encrypted files more easily. However, the practical risk is limited because PBKDF2 is deprecated for new encryptions and only retained for backward compatibility with existing files. New encryptions now use Argon2id with 600,000 iterations.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability weakens password protection for legacy encrypted files by using a non-standard PBKDF2 key derivation with only one iteration, making passwords easier to crack. This could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, potentially violating GDPR's requirement for strong encryption and HIPAA's safeguards for protected health information.

Mitigation Strategies

Immediately upgrade openssl_encrypt to version 1.4.0 or later. If you cannot upgrade, avoid using legacy encrypted files that rely on the vulnerable PBKDF2 implementation. Consider migrating to newer encryption methods like Argon2id.

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