CVE-2026-81699: Jahlives OpenSSL Encrypt

High severity, CVSS 7.5. EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.9 fail to properly validate key derivation function costs in crafted files, allowing attackers to trigger unbounded memory and CPU exhaustion during pre-authentication processing. Attackers can supply malicious files with excessive KDF parameters to exhaust system resources and crash or wedge the process before password verification occurs.

Affected products

• Jahlives OpenSSL Encrypt: before 1.4.9 (fixed in 1.4.9)

Published 2026-08-27. Last modified 2026-09-03.