CVE-2026-15055
Received Received - Intake

Bouncy Castle Java PKCS#8 PBES2 KDF Cost Bypass

Publication date: 2026-08-03

Last updated on: 2026-08-03

Assigner: bcorg

Description
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).

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-03
Last Modified
2026-08-03
Generated
2026-08-03
AI Q&A
2026-08-03
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-15055
EUVD
EUVD-2026-52019

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 5 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
bouncy_castle bouncy_castle_for_java to 1.85 (exc)
bouncy_castle bouncy_castle_for_java_lts to 2.73.12 (exc)
bouncy_castle bouncy_castle_for_java_fips to 1.0.12 (exc)
bouncy_castle bouncy_castle_for_java_fips to 2.0.12 (exc)
bouncy_castle bouncy_castle_for_java_fips to 2.1.12 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-770 The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.

Attack-Flow Graph

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Executive Summary

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, PKCS#8 / PBES2 decryptors incorrectly honor unbounded Key Derivation Function (KDF) cost from input. This allows attackers to perform excessive computational work during decryption, potentially leading to denial-of-service conditions or resource exhaustion.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability affects Bouncy Castle for Java versions before 1.85, LTS before 2.73.12, and FIPS versions before specified releases. Detection involves checking installed versions of Bouncy Castle libraries. Use commands like 'mvn dependency:tree' for Maven projects or 'gradle dependencies' for Gradle projects to inspect dependencies. For direct checks, inspect JAR files in your classpath for version information.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can impact you by causing system slowdowns or crashes due to high CPU or memory usage during decryption operations. If exploited, it may disrupt services relying on Bouncy Castle for secure data handling, especially in applications using PKCS#8 or PBES2 encryption standards.

Mitigation Strategies

Update Bouncy Castle for Java to version 1.85 or later. For LTS versions, upgrade to 2.73.12 or later. For BC-FJA, update to bcpkix-fips 1.0.12, 2.0.12, or 2.1.12 depending on your series.

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