CVE-2026-17507: MLS membership checks compare a uint32 leaf_index as signed, admitting an out-of-range sender

Published Oct 2, 2026
·
Updated

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.86, the MLS implementation (org.bouncycastle.mls) holds RFC 9420's uint32 leafindex in a signed int, so a wire value with the top bit set decodes to a negative number. That is a legitimate encoding rather than malformed input, and it must still decode, since the MLS interop test vectors round-trip the full range. GroupKeySet.SecretTree.hasLeaf and Group.validateRemove compared the decoded value directly against the tree's leaf count, and a signed comparison treats any negative int as less than a positive bound, so an out-of-range sender passed the membership check. In the hasLeaf case the SenderData of an unprotected PrivateMessage could then drive LeafIndex.directPath through NodeIndex.parent() arithmetic that never reaches the tree root, growing the resulting node list without bound until the JVM exhausted its heap. A single small message from any current group member could therefore deny service to every other member of the group. Both comparisons now interpret the value as unsigned via Integer.toUnsignedLong, rejecting an out-of-range sender however it was encoded; well-formed leaf indices are unaffected.

Affected Software

1 affected component
Bouncy Castle Bouncy Castle for Java<1.86

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade org.bouncycastle.mls to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 1.86

Event History

Oct 2, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·07:26 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·07:26 AM
DescriptionWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·08:17 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness

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