CRMF/CMP password-MAC honours unbounded iteration count
In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, CRMF/CMP password-MAC honours unbounded iteration count. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bcpkix-fips 1.0.12 (1.0.X series), 2.0.12 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.12 (2.1.X series).
- Published
- Aug 2, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 28, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.4% · 34th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-770
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Report tools
Action score
27
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 27 / 40 · 6.9 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.4%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · bcorg
- 6.9
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/U:Amber
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| bouncycastle | bc-java | cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bc-java |
| bouncycastle | bcpkix-fips | cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bcpkix-fips |
| bouncycastle | bouncy castle for java lts | cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bouncy_castle_for_java_lts |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- bouncycastle bc-javabefore 1.85
- bouncycastle bcpkix-fipsbefore 1.0.12
- bouncycastle bcpkix-fips2.0.7 and later · before 2.0.12
- bouncycastle bcpkix-fips2.1.8 and later · before 2.1.12
- bouncycastle bouncy castle for java ltsup to 2.73.11 inclusive
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (bcorg). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-FJA
- 1.0.0 and later · before 1.0.12affected · maven
- 2.0.0 and later · before 2.0.12affected · maven
- 2.1.0 and later · before 2.1.12affected · maven
Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-JAVA
- before 1.85affected · maven
Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-LTS-JAVA
- 2.73.0 and later · before 2.73.12affected · maven
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | bouncycastle | all versions | — |
Same product
bouncycastle: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2007-6721The Legion of the Bouncy Castle Java Cryptography API before release 1.38, as used in Crypto Provider Package before 1.36, has unknown impac41Plan
- CVE-2018-1000613Legion of the Bouncy Castle Legion of the Bouncy Castle Java Cryptography APIs 1.58 up to but not including 1.60 contains a CWE-470: Use of 40Plan
- CVE-2026-58062Stapled OCSP response accepted without binding to the checked certificate37Monitor
- CVE-2026-8763Name Constraints bypass via trailing dot in rfc822Name and URI37Monitor
- CVE-2026-59650MTI/A0 DH agreement exponentiates unvalidated peer value37Monitor
- CVE-2026-59638JSSE hostname verifier CN-fallback enabled by default despite documented opt-in37Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-FJA | 1.0.12 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-FJA | 2.0.12 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-FJA | 2.1.12 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-JAVA | 1.85 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-LTS-JAVA | 2.73.12 | Vendor (CNA) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
- Alex Gaynor in collaborationClaude and Anthropic Researchreporter
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
- CVE-2026-596480 days apartOpenPGP Argon2 S2K honours attacker-chosen memory and passes27Monitor
- CVE-2026-150550 days apartPKCS#8 / PBES2 decryptors honour unbounded KDF cost from input21Monitor
- CVE-2026-580630 days apartBCFKS keystore load honours unbounded KDF cost from untrusted file21Monitor
- CVE-2026-135861 days apartPKCS#12 MAC and bag-decryption KDF iteration-count bound (DoS)21Monitor
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Availability
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- X
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-770 · Allocation of Resources Without Limits or ThrottlingCVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:Amber
nvd-secondary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- FloodingCAPEC-125likelihood: High · Medium
- Excessive AllocationCAPEC-130likelihood: Medium · Medium
- XML Ping of the DeathCAPEC-147likelihood: Low · Medium
- Exponential Data ExpansionCAPEC-197likelihood: High · Medium
- Serialized Data Parameter BlowupCAPEC-229likelihood: High · High
- Serialized Data with Nested PayloadsCAPEC-230likelihood: Medium · High
- Oversized Serialized Data PayloadsCAPEC-231likelihood: Medium · High
- HTTP DoSCAPEC-469Low
ATT&CK techniques
- Network Denial of Service:Direct Network FloodT1498.001
- Network Denial of Service:Reflection AmplificationT1498.002
- Endpoint Denial of ServiceT1499
- Endpoint Denial of Service: OS Exhaustion FloodT1499.001
- Endpoint Denial of Service:Service Exhaustion FloodT1499.002
- Endpoint Denial of Service:Application Exhaustion FloodT1499.003
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- github.com/bcgit/bc-java/commit/c99d6427d6818d04165b07b45dfda96f2b384c53
- github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE%E2%80%902026%E2%80%9059647
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.