PKCS#12 key derivation loops about 2^32 times on a zero or negative iteration count
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 · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-835.
Summary
Loop with unreachable exit condition in the PKCS#12 key derivation (Pkcs12ParametersGenerator) in Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. bc-csharp before 2.7.0 allows an attacker who can supply a PKCS#12 (PFX) file, or a PKCS#8 encrypted private key that uses a PKCS#12 password-based encryption algorithm, to cause a denial of service through CPU exhaustion via an iteration count of zero or below, because the derivation loop ran until its counter equalled the count, so for such a count it wrapped through about 2^32 iterations before the MAC or the password could be checked. A 75-byte PFX file with a negative MacData iteration count kept Pkcs12Store.Load busy for many minutes.
Why it matters now
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-csharp | before 2.7.0 | 2.7.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- bc-csharp VendorLegion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. Affected before 2.7.0 Fixed in 2.7.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bc-csharp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 2.7.0 | Vulnerable | Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. |
- cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bc-csharp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 2.7.0 Vulnerable ·Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.
Remediation
- Fix · CNA bc-csharp (Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.) Fixed in 2.7.0
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-csharp 2.7.0
21 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 8 MEDIUM, 13 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-65844 MTI/A0 DHAgreement does not validate the peer's ephemeral valuePriority MEDIUM 47
- TI-2026-66020 Unbounded HSS public key level count allows huge array allocation during signature verificationPriority MEDIUM 44
- TI-2026-66017 Unbounded ASN.1 nesting depth causes process-terminating stack overflowPriority MEDIUM 44
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-63575
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-7c84-x75c-5j8m
- 2026-10-28 CVSS score added · NVD
References
More Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. Bc-csharp vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-65844 MTI/A0 DHAgreement does not validate the peer's ephemeral value CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-66020 Unbounded HSS public key level count allows huge array allocation during signature verification CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-66017 Unbounded ASN.1 nesting depth causes process-terminating stack overflow CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-65849 Unbounded allocation from OpenPGP signature and user attribute subpacket lengths CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-65843 Unbounded CMP/CRMF password-based MAC iteration count allows CPU exhaustion CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-65841 DTLS handshake reassembler allocates buffer from unchecked 24-bit length CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
Sources
- CVE-2026-63575 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-63575 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-7c84-x75c-5j8m · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences