GitHub Advisoryadvisory · PyPI
GHSA-h3m5-p59h-x88p openssl-encrypt has visible password in process list via --password CLI argument
MEDIUM
Official page ↗
- Ecosystem
- PyPI
- Packages
- openssl-encrypt
- Severity
- Moderate
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U
- Weaknesses
- CWE-256
- Reviewed
- 2026-03-31
Affected packages
• PyPI openssl-encrypt: < 1.4.0 → fixed in 1.4.0
Description
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.
Related
Weakness · CWE (1)
- CWE-256 Plaintext Storage of a Password weakness