CVE Watchtower

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CVE-2026-71892NVD

Vulnerability Summary

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.86, the opt-in key-size validation on CMS key-transport recipients, org.bouncycastle.cms.jcajce.JceKeyTransRecipient.setKeySizeValidation(true), never ran for a message using RFC 9709 content-encryption key derivation (id-alg-cek-hkdf-sha256). The branch that should have selected the actual content-encryption algorithm carried in the key derivation AlgorithmIdentifier's parameters compared the encrypted-key byte array against the id-alg-cek-hkdf-sha256 object identifier, a comparison between a byte array and an ASN1ObjectIdentifier that is false for every possible input, so the check fell through to a key-size lookup on the outer wrapper OID. That OID identifies a key-derivation construction rather than a cipher and has no registered key size, so the size comparison was skipped entirely. A key-transport EnvelopedData or AuthEnvelopedData whose transported, HKDF-derived content-encryption key did not match the key size of the advertised content-encryption algorithm was therefore accepted even with validation explicitly enabled, silently defeating the only mechanism the API offers for enforcing recovered key size. The recipient now dispatches on the content-encryption AlgorithmIdentifier's algorithm OID, so validation checks the recovered key against the inner content-encryption algorithm. Messages with a matching key size, non-HKDF messages, and recipients that do not enable validation are unaffected. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bcpkix-fips 2.0.13 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.13 (2.1.X series).
Severity Level
MEDIUM(6.9)
Published Date
Oct 3, 2026
Last Modified
Oct 5, 2026
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation yet
EPSS Score (30-Day)
0.17%Probability
Root Weakness (CWE)
Refer to the official MITRE database for detailed architectural specifications regarding this weakness.
CVSS v4.0 Base Metrics — Score 6.9 (MEDIUM)
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Attack RequirementsNone
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
Confidentiality (Vulnerable System)Low
Integrity (Vulnerable System)Low
Availability (Vulnerable System)None
Confidentiality (Subsequent System)None
Integrity (Subsequent System)None
Availability (Subsequent System)None

Affected & Patched Versions

Affected Versions
  • Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-JAVA >= 1.78 and < 1.86
  • Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-FJA >= 2.0.7 and < 2.0.13
  • Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-FJA >= 2.1.0 and < 2.1.13
Patched Versions
  • Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-JAVA 1.86
  • Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-FJA 2.0.13
  • Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC-FJA 2.1.13
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🎁7-Day Free Trial — Try Pro or Team, no card required.
📧Email Delivery — Threat intel straight to your inbox.
♾️Unlimited Vendors — Track your entire stack.
🚨All New CVEs — Be the first to know.
📈EPSS Spike Alerts — Catch rising risk before it peaks.
🎯Custom EPSS/CVSS — Filter noise, focus on risk.
🛡️Exploit Intel — A 2nd confirmed-exploit signal beyond KEV.
🐙GitHub Issues — Auto-tracked, no duplicates.
📬Weekly Digest — One clean summary, not inbox spam.
🏷️Watchlist Groups — Tag alerts by team (Infra/AppSec/SOC).
💬Webhooks — Slack & Teams integration.
🔀Smart Routing — Critical alerts to one channel, rest to another.
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