PKCS#8 / PBES2 decryptors honour unbounded KDF cost from input
Priority LOW 24CWE-770Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Passive
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · Low
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-770.
Summary
In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, PKCS#8 / PBES2 decryptors honour unbounded KDF cost from input. 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).
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00339 27th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial BC-JAVA (Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.): 1.85BC-LTS-JAVA (Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.): 2.73.12+1 more productRed Hat: 5 without a fix
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. | BC-JAVA | before 1.85 | 1.85 | Patch available | CNA |
| Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. | BC-LTS-JAVA | 2.73.0 to before 2.73.12 | 2.73.12 | Patch available | CNA |
| Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. | BC-FJA | 1.0.0 to before 1.0.12; 2.0.0 to before 2.0.12; 2.1.0 to before 2.1.12 | 1.0.12, 2.0.12, 2.1.12 | Patch available | CNA |
- BC-JAVA VendorLegion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. Affected before 1.85 Fixed in 1.85 Patch available CNA
- BC-LTS-JAVA VendorLegion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. Affected 2.73.0 to before 2.73.12 Fixed in 2.73.12 Patch available CNA
- BC-FJA VendorLegion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. Affected 1.0.0 to before 1.0.12; 2.0.0 to before 2.0.12; 2.1.0 to before 2.1.12 Fixed in 1.0.12, 2.0.12, 2.1.12 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 3
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bc-java:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 1.85 | Vulnerable | Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. |
| cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bcpkix-fips:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 1.0.12; 2.0.7 to before 2.0.12; 2.1.8 to before 2.1.12 | Vulnerable | Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. |
| cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bouncy_castle_for_java_lts:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | up to 2.73.11 | Vulnerable | Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. |
- cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bc-java:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 1.85 Vulnerable ·Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.
- cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bcpkix-fips:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 1.0.12; 2.0.7 to before 2.0.12; 2.1.8 to before 2.1.12 Vulnerable ·Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.
- cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bouncy_castle_for_java_lts:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions up to 2.73.11 Vulnerable ·Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.
Remediation
- Fix · CNA BC-JAVA (Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.) Fixed in 1.85
- Fix · CNA BC-LTS-JAVA (Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.) Fixed in 2.73.12
- Fix · CNA BC-FJA (Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.) Fixed in 1.0.12, 2.0.12, 2.1.12
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC-JAVA 1.85
32 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 23 MEDIUM, 9 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-42545 MTI/A0 DH agreement exponentiates unvalidated peer valuePriority MEDIUM 48
- TI-2026-42533 JSSE hostname verifier CN-fallback enabled by default despite documented opt-inPriority MEDIUM 48
- TI-2026-41816 Stapled OCSP response accepted without binding to the checked certificatePriority MEDIUM 48
- Release ·
Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC-LTS-JAVA 2.73.12
28 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 20 MEDIUM, 8 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-42545 MTI/A0 DH agreement exponentiates unvalidated peer valuePriority MEDIUM 48
- TI-2026-42533 JSSE hostname verifier CN-fallback enabled by default despite documented opt-inPriority MEDIUM 48
- TI-2026-41816 Stapled OCSP response accepted without binding to the checked certificatePriority MEDIUM 48
Show 1 more group
- Release ·
Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC-FJA 1.0.12, 2.0.12, 2.1.12
5 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 3 MEDIUM, 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-42537 CMS AuthenticatedData content not bound to MAC when authAttrs presentPriority MEDIUM 43
- TI-2026-42534 CMS verifySignatures returns true for SignedData with zero signersPriority MEDIUM 43
- TI-2026-10940 CMS AuthEnvelopedData fails to enforce tag-length on decryptionPriority MEDIUM 43
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat AMQ Clients | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Ceph Storage 9 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Single Sign-On 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat Fuse 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-15055
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-mx98-27g8-c9xc
- 2026-10-16 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-03 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. Bc-java vulnerabilities
- TI-2018-15967 Legion of the Bouncy Castle Legion of the Bouncy Castle Java Cryptography APIs 1.58 up to… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2017-09736 BouncyCastle JCE TLS Bleichenbacher/ROBOT CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-42545 MTI/A0 DH agreement exponentiates unvalidated peer value CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.3
- TI-2026-42533 JSSE hostname verifier CN-fallback enabled by default despite documented opt-in CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.3
- TI-2026-41816 Stapled OCSP response accepted without binding to the checked certificate CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.3
- TI-2026-07701 Name Constraints bypass via trailing dot in rfc822Name and URI CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-15055 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-15055 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-mx98-27g8-c9xc · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-15055 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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