CVE-2026-81703
Received
Received - Intake
OpenSSL PQC Private Key Encryption Bypass Vulnerability
Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-81703, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.
Publication date: 2026-08-27
Last updated on: 2026-08-27
Assigner: VulnCheck
Description
Description
openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.9 fail to validate encryption status of embedded post-quantum private keys in file metadata. Attackers can craft files with unencrypted embedded PQC keys that decrypt under any password, bypassing authentication and producing attacker-chosen plaintext with false integrity verification.
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
| Probability: | |
| Percentile: |
Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| openssl | openssl_encrypt | to 1.4.9 (exc) |
| mayo | openssl_encrypt | to 1.4.9 (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-287 | When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. |