GHSA-h3m5-p59h-x88p
openssl-encrypt has visible password in process list via --password CLI argument
Quick fix
GHSA-h3m5-p59h-x88p — openssl-encrypt: upgrade to the fixed version with the command below.
pip install --upgrade 'openssl-encrypt>=1.4.0'Details
### 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.
Are you affected?
Enter the version of the package you're using.
Affected packages
0 Fixed in: 1.4.0 pip install --upgrade 'openssl-encrypt>=1.4.0'