CVE-2026-81683

Q: How do I fix CVE-2026-81683?

Upgrade openssl encrypt to 1.4.9 or later.

Q: Is CVE-2026-81683 being actively exploited?

Not that we know of. CVE-2026-81683 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.05% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 0% of all scored CVEs.

Q: How severe is CVE-2026-81683?

CVE-2026-81683 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.4, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

Q: What does CVE-2026-81683 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for openssl encrypt (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

HIGH

8.4

CVSS v3

NVD

Description

openssl_encrypt (pip package openssl-encrypt) versions 1.4.8 and earlier store an mTLS client private key in cleartext within a world-readable (0644) SharedPreferences file via the desktop GUI's Settings screen 'combined certificate and private key' PEM field. A local attacker with file system access can read the exposed private key. Version 1.4.9 writes the PEM to a dedicated 0600 file, keeps only its path in SharedPreferences, and migrates/scrubs existing cleartext values.

CWE-312

How to fix

Remediation Available

openssl encryptNVD

Affected:< 1.4.9Fixed in:1.4.9CVE-2026-81683derived from NVD

TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges RequiredNone

User InteractionNone

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploit Intelligence

0.05%probability of exploitation in 30 days

0thpercentile

Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 0% of all known CVEs.

References

Vendor Advisory1

github.com

Third-Party Advisory1

vulncheck.com

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-312 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVE	Severity	CVSS	EPSS	Exploited	Fix
CVE-2023-50719	High	7.5	84%	-	Fix
CVE-2022-26148	Critical	9.8	53%	-	Fix
CVE-2020-24577	High	7.5	19%	-	Fix
CVE-2021-27140	High	7.5	19%	-	-
CVE-2021-27176	High	7.5	19%	-	-
CVE-2021-27174	High	7.5	19%	-	-

Common questions

How do I fix CVE-2026-81683?

Upgrade openssl encrypt to 1.4.9 or later.

Is CVE-2026-81683 being actively exploited?

Not that we know of. CVE-2026-81683 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.05% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 0% of all scored CVEs.

How severe is CVE-2026-81683?

CVE-2026-81683 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.4, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

What does CVE-2026-81683 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for openssl encrypt (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-09-02.