CVE-2026-81698

HIGHNVD 8.88.8
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

“—” beside the score: it is equal to NVD's CVSS score.

This high-severity CVE scores 8.8 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 0.4% (35th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs). GitHub Security Advisory CVSS 7.5 is lower than this score; a lower GitHub score revises it only when its advisory is newer than the CVE record's last change, and this advisory (published 2026-08-27) is not newer than that change (2026-10-01), so it does not.

Triggered by: Headline CVSS from NVD CVSS v3
Sources: EPSS, GitHub Security Advisory, NVD CVSS v3
Trending — 3 sources updated this week
8.8EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixRemediate within your standard update timelines (the SSVC decision on this page).
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0.4%CVSS: 8.8Exploit: None knownExposed services: Not assessed

A fix is available — apply it.

openssl_encrypt versions before 1.4.9 contain a shell injection vulnerability in the info command's reconstructed CLI block that interpolates untrusted metadata fields without quoting. Attackers can craft metadata values like pepper_name containing shell commands that execute when users copy the printed CLI block into a shell.

CVSS v3
8.8
EG Score
8.8HIGHmedium confidence
EG Risk
40
EG Risk 40/100

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)
Severity88% × 45%
The EG Score, 8.8 of 10.
Exploitation0.4% × 40%
FIRST EPSS: the 30-day exploitation probability when EchelonGraph scored this CVE.
Automatability0% × 15%
CISA's SSVC Automatable value: no (Vulnrichment).
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.
Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
EPSS PROB
0.4%
EPSS %ILE
35th
KEV
Not listed

SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).

A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.

Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table

BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.

In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it

Published

August 27, 2026

Last Modified

October 1, 2026

Advisory Details (2)

Auto-updated Aug 27, 2026
Patch available. Sources: github.
Web page

openssl_encrypt before 1.4.9 Shell Injection via info command | Advisories | VulnCheck

https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openssl-encrypt-before-1.4.9-shell-injection-via-info-command
GitHub advisoryMentions a patch (unverified)

'info' reconstructed-CLI block interpolates untrusted metadata unquoted (shell injection when pasted) · Advisory · jahlives/openssl_encrypt · GitHub

https://github.com/jahlives/openssl_encrypt/security/advisories/GHSA-gw2m-mj6q-59hc

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-81698(1)

These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.

Affected Packages

(1 across 1 ecosystem)
PyPI(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
openssl-encrypt0.2.2 ... 1.4.8 (53 versions)
  • every version up to 1.4.9: fixed in 1.4.9
—

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 21× in last 7d / 107× in last 30d)

Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 181 refreshes on record for this CVE.

A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. None are among the latest 100 rows. The 81 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.

  1. 2026-10-14 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  2. 2026-10-13 16:35 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  3. 2026-10-13 06:16 UTCEG score recompute
  4. 2026-10-13 06:16 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  5. 2026-10-12 16:35 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  6. 2026-10-12 14:56 UTCEG score recompute
  7. 2026-10-11 19:20 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-10-11 16:36 UTCEG score recompute
  9. 2026-10-11 13:54 UTCEG score recompute
  10. 2026-10-11 13:49 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  11. 2026-10-10 20:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  12. 2026-10-10 14:05 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  13. 2026-10-10 01:55 UTCEG score recompute
  14. 2026-10-10 01:55 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  15. 2026-10-09 20:07 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  16. 2026-10-09 03:07 UTCEG score recompute
  17. 2026-10-09 03:07 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  18. 2026-10-08 17:13 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  19. 2026-10-08 01:20 UTCEG score recompute
  20. 2026-10-08 01:19 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  21. 2026-10-07 23:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  22. 2026-10-07 07:46 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  23. 2026-10-06 19:40 UTCEG score recompute
  24. 2026-10-06 19:40 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  25. 2026-10-06 15:18 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-10-06 07:33 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-10-06 07:33 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  3. 2026-10-05 17:43 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  4. 2026-10-05 16:52 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  5. 2026-10-05 04:36 UTCEG score recompute
  6. 2026-10-05 04:36 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  7. 2026-10-04 23:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  8. 2026-10-04 16:24 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  9. 2026-10-04 04:19 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  10. 2026-10-03 16:13 UTCEG score recompute
  11. 2026-10-03 16:13 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  12. 2026-10-03 14:26 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  13. 2026-10-03 04:08 UTCEG score recompute
  14. 2026-10-03 04:08 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  15. 2026-10-02 17:57 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  16. 2026-10-02 15:44 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  17. 2026-10-02 03:39 UTCEG score recompute
  18. 2026-10-02 03:39 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  19. 2026-10-01 19:50 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  20. 2026-10-01 15:27 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  21. 2026-10-01 08:01 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  22. 2026-09-30 19:55 UTCEG score recompute
  23. 2026-09-30 19:55 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  24. 2026-09-30 15:04 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  25. 2026-09-30 05:01 UTCEG score recompute
  26. 2026-09-30 05:01 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  27. 2026-09-29 12:16 UTCEG score recompute
  28. 2026-09-29 12:16 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  29. 2026-09-28 21:16 UTCEG score recompute
  30. 2026-09-28 21:16 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  31. 2026-09-28 13:52 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  32. 2026-09-28 07:03 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  33. 2026-09-27 18:56 UTCEG score recompute
  34. 2026-09-27 18:56 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  35. 2026-09-27 13:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  36. 2026-09-27 06:50 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  37. 2026-09-26 18:44 UTCEG score recompute
  38. 2026-09-26 18:44 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  39. 2026-09-26 15:59 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  40. 2026-09-25 15:55 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  41. 2026-09-25 03:48 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  42. 2026-09-24 15:43 UTCEG score recompute
  43. 2026-09-24 15:43 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  44. 2026-09-24 14:04 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  45. 2026-09-24 03:38 UTCEG score recompute
  46. 2026-09-24 03:38 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  47. 2026-09-23 17:54 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.3% · 21st percentile
  48. 2026-09-23 15:32 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  49. 2026-09-23 03:27 UTCEG score recompute
  50. 2026-09-23 03:27 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  51. 2026-09-22 16:01 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.3% · 21st percentile
  52. 2026-09-22 15:22 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  53. 2026-09-22 03:17 UTCEG score recompute
  54. 2026-09-22 03:17 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  55. 2026-09-21 21:09 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.3% · 21st percentile
  56. 2026-09-21 15:11 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  57. 2026-09-21 03:01 UTCEG score recompute
  58. 2026-09-21 03:01 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  59. 2026-09-20 20:16 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.3% · 21st percentile
  60. 2026-09-20 14:54 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  61. 2026-09-20 02:49 UTCEG score recompute
  62. 2026-09-20 02:48 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  63. 2026-09-19 14:43 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  64. 2026-09-19 02:37 UTCEG score recompute
  65. 2026-09-19 02:37 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  66. 2026-09-18 19:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.3% · 21st percentile
  67. 2026-09-18 14:32 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  68. 2026-09-18 02:26 UTCEG score recompute
  69. 2026-09-18 02:26 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  70. 2026-09-17 14:21 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  71. 2026-09-17 02:13 UTCEG score recompute
  72. 2026-09-17 02:13 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5
  73. 2026-09-16 14:08 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.3% · 21st percentile
  74. 2026-09-16 14:08 UTCEG score recompute
  75. 2026-09-16 14:08 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-rcx3-xx7j-m3r9 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 7.5

Related CVEs(same product + same CWE)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-81698?
CVE-2026-81698 is a high-severity vulnerability; its CVE record was published on August 27, 2026. opensslencrypt versions before 1.4.9 contain a shell injection vulnerability in the info command's reconstructed CLI block that interpolates untrusted metadata fields without quoting. Attackers can craft metadata values like peppername containing shell commands that execute when users copy the…
When was CVE-2026-81698 made public?
CVE-2026-81698 was made public on August 12, 2026: that is the date its CVE record's CNA, VulnCheck, gives for when the vulnerability was made public. The CVE record itself was published on August 27, 2026. EchelonGraph's copy of the record carries a last-modified date of October 1, 2026; the record at its source may have been updated since.
Is CVE-2026-81698 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-81698 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (35th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs).
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-81698?
CVE-2026-81698 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-81698?
A fix for CVE-2026-81698 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory. The vendor advisories EchelonGraph has for CVE-2026-81698 are linked in the Vendor Advisories panel on this page.

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