CVE-2026-59648
Received Received - Intake

Argon2 Memory Hardening Bypass in Bouncy Castle Java

Publication date: 2026-08-03

Last updated on: 2026-08-03

Assigner: bcorg

Description
In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, OpenPGP Argon2 S2K honours attacker-chosen memory and passes. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bcpg-fips 1.0.13 (1.0.X series), 2.0.13 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.13 (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-2026-59648
EUVD
EUVD-2026-52026

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 5 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
bouncy_castle java to 1.85 (exc)
bouncy_castle java_lts to 2.73.12 (exc)
bouncy_castle java_fips to 1.0.13 (exc)
bouncy_castle java_fips to 2.0.13 (exc)
bouncy_castle java_fips to 2.1.13 (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

This vulnerability in Bouncy Castle for Java allows an attacker to control the memory usage of the OpenPGP Argon2 S2K function. This could lead to denial-of-service conditions or other unexpected behavior due to excessive memory consumption.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability affects Bouncy Castle for Java versions before 1.85 (main), 2.73.12 (LTS), and specific FIPS series. Detection requires checking installed versions of Bouncy Castle libraries in Java applications. Use commands like 'mvn dependency:tree' for Maven projects or 'gradle dependencies' for Gradle projects to inspect dependencies. For direct library checks, search for 'bcprov' or 'bcpg' in classpath or module paths.

Impact Analysis

If exploited, this flaw could cause applications using affected Bouncy Castle versions to crash or become unresponsive due to high memory usage. It may also allow attackers to manipulate system resources.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate memory usage in OpenPGP Argon2 S2K, potentially bypassing security controls. For GDPR, this could impact data protection measures by weakening encryption key derivation. HIPAA compliance may be affected if protected health information encryption is compromised due to improper memory handling.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade Bouncy Castle for Java to version 1.85 or later. For LTS versions, upgrade to 2.73.12 or later. For BC-FJA, upgrade to bcpg-fips 1.0.13, 2.0.13, or 2.1.13 depending on your series.

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