openssl-encrypt: TOTP rate limiter is in-memory only — not shared across workers, lost on restart

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS 4.0

9.1 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source

EPSS

• CVE-2026-74878: 0.75% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 54.96 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Severity: HIGH Summary The TOTP brute-force rate limiter in opensslencryptserver/modules/pepper/totp.py at lines 47-98 uses an in-memory defaultdict(list) as a class variable. Affected Code Impact 1. Rate limit state is not shared across multiple server instances/workers — an attacker can distribute attempts 2. All rate limit state is lost on server restart — allows immediate retry 3. In multi-worker deployments, each worker has independent rate limit state Recommended Fix - Use Redis or the database for rate limit state storage - Or use a shared-memory approach for multi-worker deployments - At minimum, persist lockout state to survive restarts Fix Fixed in commit 2749bc0 on branch releases/1.4.x — added abstract RateLimitBackend with InMemoryBackend and DatabaseBackend implementations; defaults to DatabaseBackend when DB available.

Published by the source

31 Mar 2026, 23:41 UTC

Last modified by the source

2 Sep 2026, 09:10 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:40 UTC

1. Revision 4 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-h45m-mgcp-q388

2. Revision 3 · amended · 25 Oct 2026

   Reviewed OSV alias/range/CVSS4 correction; package source scopes and original publication preserved. No customer finding resolved.

3. Revision 2 · amended · 24 Oct 2026

   Amended from osv record GHSA-h45m-mgcp-q388

4. Revision 1 · created · 23 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-h45m-mgcp-q388

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-74878

Advisory: openssl-encrypt: TOTP rate limiter is in-memory only — not shared across workers, lost on restart
IDs: CVE-2026-74878, GHSA-h45m-mgcp-q388
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/ghsa-h45m-mgcp-q388 (revision 4, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:40 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.1)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: openssl-encrypt 1.4.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI openssl-encrypt: affected < 1.4.0; fixed in 1.4.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show openssl-encrypt`: prints the installed version. Run with the environment that serves production active.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on openssl-encrypt.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-h45m-mgcp-q388 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-h45m-mgcp-q388 lists affected ranges: PyPI openssl-encrypt >=0 <1.4.0)
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-h45m-mgcp-q388 (OSV record GHSA-h45m-mgcp-q388 lists affected ranges: PyPI openssl-encrypt >=0 <1.4.0 (fixed))

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