GHSA-h3m5-p59h-x88p
### Summary Passwords passed via the `--password` / `-p` CLI argument in `openssl_encrypt/modules/crypt_cli_subparser.py` at **lines 150-154** are visible to any user on the system via `ps aux` or `/proc/[pid]/cmdline`. ### Affected Code ```python subparser.add_argument( "--password", "-p", help="Password (will prompt if not provided, or use CRYPT_PASSWORD environment variable)", ) ``` Similarly, `--keystore-password` exposes the keystore password. ### Impact On multi-user systems, any user can observe the encryption password by listing processes. The `CRYPT_PASSWORD` environment variable alternative is also visible via `/proc/[pid]/environ` (though with slightly restricted access). ### Recommended Fix - Document the security implications prominently - Recommend interactive prompting (already supported) as the secure default - Consider supporting password file descriptors (`--password-fd`) or reading from stdin - Consider marking the argument as deprecated in favor of interactive prompting ### Fix Fixed in commit `e78a366` on branch `releases/1.4.x` — added --password-file and --password-fd arguments; added OPENSSL_ENCRYPT_PASSWORD env var support; --password now emits deprecation warning.
Properties
- ghsa_id
- GHSA-h3m5-p59h-x88p
- severity
- medium
- summary
- openssl-encrypt has visible password in process list via --password CLI argument
- cve_id
- GHSA-h3m5-p59h-x88p
- is_ghsa_only
- true
- ghsa_published
- 2026-03-31T23:42:17Z
- source_url
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-h3m5-p59h-x88p
- ghsa_updated
- 2026-03-31T23:42:18Z
Related Entities (3)
REPORTED_BY (1)
AFFECTS (1)
HAS_WEAKNESS (1)
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