In Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 1.0.2.7 (1.0.X series), 2.0.2 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.3 (2.1.X series), sensitive key material held by the AES and DESede engines, the SP 800-90A DRBGs, SymmetricSecretKey and the PBKD and scrypt parameter classes was zeroised on garbage collection by overriding Object.finalize. Finalization runs at an unspecified time and in an unspecified order and is serviced by a single finalizer thread, so where objects carrying a finalizer are allocated faster than that thread retires them the pending-finalization queue grows without bound: disposal falls arbitrarily far behind, which can contribute to an OutOfMemoryError under load, and the key material those objects hold stays resident in the heap for as long as they are queued, defeating the purpose of the zeroisation. The behaviour was not a problem on Java 8 or Java 11; it is later JVMs, on which finalization has been deprecated and progressively de-emphasised, where it becomes one. Disposal of these classes now runs from a java.lang.ref.Cleaner registered in the multi-release jdk1.9 overlay, so on Java 9 and later it no longer depends on the finalizer being scheduled. Bouncy Castle for Java (bcprov) and Bouncy Castle for Java LTS are not affected, as neither implements the finalizer-based zeroisation scheme.

In Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 2.1.3, the native entropy source used on Intel platforms retried the CPU entropy instructions without any bound. RDSEED and RDRAND report failure through their carry flag, and the JNI seeding routine spun re-issuing the instruction for as long as that flag stayed clear, so a persistent failure of the on-chip entropy source - whether from a hardware fault, from the underlying DRBG being exhausted by contention across many cores, or from a hypervisor that does not provide the instruction - left the calling thread looping indefinitely inside the JNI call, where it could be neither interrupted nor timed out. Any operation drawing from the native entropy source could therefore hang, denying service to the application. The retry loops are now bounded (200 attempts for RDSEED and 20 for RDRAND, twice the baselines given in Intel's Digital Random Number Generator software implementation guide), pausing between attempts and, on exhaustion, clearing any partially written buffer and throwing rather than continuing to spin. The clear is performed by an un-elidable memzero, which uses a volatile pointer and an assembly memory barrier so that a compiler cannot optimise the erase away as a dead store. Bouncy Castle for Java (bcprov) is not affected, as it has no native entropy source; the 1.0.X and 2.0.X FIPS series are not affected.

I had the same thought so I asked the project owner and he shared the story :-)

https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/discussions/2388

Am Mi., 5. Aug. 2026 um 05:24 Uhr schrieb Alan Coopersmith < alan.coopersmith () oracle com>: On 8/3/2026 7:37 PM, Peter Gutmann wrote: Alan Coopersmith <alan.coopersmith () oracle com> writes: It also says the release contains fixes for the following CVEs: Given the quantity and sweeping scope of those, was this the result of some new tool used for code analysis? I'm assuming AI, it sounds like there'd be an interesting backstory to how all of this was turned up. I didn't see anything in the announcements from the Bouncy Castle folks about that.

They do have more info about the CVE's in their wiki, such as: https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE%E2%80%902026%E2%80%908763 but I don't see any reference there to how they were found/reported.

On 8/3/2026 7:37 PM, Peter Gutmann wrote: Alan Coopersmith <alan.coopersmith () oracle com> writes: It also says the release contains fixes for the following CVEs: Given the quantity and sweeping scope of those, was this the result of some new tool used for code analysis? I'm assuming AI, it sounds like there'd be an interesting backstory to how all of this was turned up. I didn't see anything in the announcements from the Bouncy Castle folks about that.

They do have more info about the CVE's in their wiki, such as: https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE%E2%80%902026%E2%80%908763 but I don't see any reference there to how they were found/reported.

-- -Alan Coopersmith- alan.coopersmith () oracle com Oracle Solaris Engineering - https://blogs.oracle.com/solaris

Alan Coopersmith <alan.coopersmith () oracle com> writes: It also says the release contains fixes for the following CVEs: Given the quantity and sweeping scope of those, was this the result of some new tool used for code analysis? I'm assuming AI, it sounds like there'd be an interesting backstory to how all of this was turned up.

Peter.

https://www.bouncycastle.org/resources/new-release-bouncy-castle-java-1-85/ announces the July 28 release of Bouncy Castle Java 1.85, "bringing significant advances in post-quantum cryptography, PKI migration, electronic signatures, secure messaging, and blockchain support."

It also says the release contains fixes for the following CVEs:

CVE-2026-8763 - Name Constraints bypass via trailing dot in rfc822Name and URI. CVE-2026-12185 - BKS/UBER keystore allocates from untrusted lengths before integrity check. CVE-2026-12802 - CMS AuthEnvelopedData fails to enforce tag-length on decryption. CVE-2026-12803 - KCCMBlockCipher MAC does not bind nonce when AAD is absent (cross-nonce AEAD forgery). CVE-2026-12816 - IESEngine stream-mode MAC forgery via length-dependent KDF split. CVE-2026-12817 - OpenPGP AEAD decryption skips final tag on chunk-aligned data. CVE-2026-12852 - MLS wire decoder allocates attacker-declared opaque length before bounds check. CVE-2026-12860 - RSA PKCS#1 verification skips last two hash bytes in NULL-omitted path. CVE-2026-13506 - Lazy ASN.1 sequence forcing resets nesting-depth guard. CVE-2026-13586 - PKCS#12 MAC and bag-decryption KDF iteration-count bound (DoS). CVE-2026-14682 - Possible OOM from unbounded up-front allocation on a definite-length read. CVE-2026-15055 - PKCS#8 / PBES2 decryptors honour unbounded KDF cost from input. CVE-2026-58059 - Quadratic-time escaping when stringifying X.500 distinguished names. CVE-2026-58060 - HSS public-key level count unbounded, enabling huge allocation on verify. CVE-2026-58061 - CCM-family modes write plaintext to caller buffer before tag check. CVE-2026-58062 - Stapled OCSP response accepted without binding to the checked certificate. CVE-2026-58063 - BCFKS keystore load honours unbounded KDF cost from untrusted file. CVE-2026-59638 - JSSE hostname verifier CN-fallback enabled by default despite documented opt-in. CVE-2026-59639 - CMS verifySignatures returns true for SignedData with zero signers. CVE-2026-59640 - OpenPGP CFB quick-check oracle active on symmetric/session-key paths. CVE-2026-59641 - S/MIME validator trusts signer-asserted signingTime for path validation. CVE-2026-59642 - CMS AuthenticatedData content not bound to MAC when authAttrs present. CVE-2026-59643 - OpenPGP inline-signature policy failures silently ignored. CVE-2026-59644 - MLS hash-ratchet honours arbitrary 32-bit generation counter from sender. CVE-2026-59645 - OER parser recurses without depth limit on self-referential IEEE 1609.2 schema. CVE-2026-59646 - DTLS handshake reassembler allocates buffer from unchecked 24-bit length. CVE-2026-59647 - CRMF/CMP password-MAC honours unbounded iteration count. CVE-2026-59648 - OpenPGP Argon2 S2K honours attacker-chosen memory and passes. CVE-2026-59649 - OpenPGP user-attribute subpacket length bounded only by JVM max memory. CVE-2026-59650 - MTI/A0 DH agreement exponentiates unvalidated peer value. CVE-2026-59651 - BKS keystore accepts legacy version with 16-bit integrity MAC key. CVE-2026-59652 - LDAP filter injection in legacy jdk1.4 LDAPStoreHelper.

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, PKCS#12 MAC and bag-decryption KDF iteration-count bound (DoS). This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 1.0.2.7 (1.0.X series), 2.0.2 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.3 (2.1.X series).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, Lazy ASN.1 sequence forcing resets nesting-depth guard. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 1.0.2.7 (1.0.X series), 2.0.2 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.3 (2.1.X series).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, RSA PKCS#1 verification skips last two hash bytes in NULL-omitted path. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12.

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, MLS wire decoder allocates attacker-declared opaque length before bounds check.

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, OpenPGP AEAD decryption skips final tag on chunk-aligned data. 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).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, IESEngine stream-mode MAC forgery via length-dependent KDF split. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12.

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, KCCMBlockCipher MAC does not bind nonce when AAD is absent (cross-nonce AEAD forgery). This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12.

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, CMS AuthEnvelopedData fails to enforce tag-length on decryption. 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).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, Possible OOM from unbounded up-front allocation on a definite-length read. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 1.0.2.7 (1.0.X series), 2.0.2 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.3 (2.1.X series), and before bctls-fips 1.0.24.

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, Quadratic-time escaping when stringifying X.500 distinguished names. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 1.0.2.7 (1.0.X series), 2.0.2 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.3 (2.1.X series).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, HSS public-key level count unbounded, enabling huge allocation on verify. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 2.0.2 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.3 (2.1.X series).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, CCM-family modes write plaintext to caller buffer before tag check. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 1.0.2.7 (1.0.X series), 2.0.2 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.3 (2.1.X series).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, Stapled OCSP response accepted without binding to the checked certificate. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 2.0.2 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.3 (2.1.X series).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, BCFKS keystore load honours unbounded KDF cost from untrusted file. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 1.0.2.7 (1.0.X series), 2.0.2 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.3 (2.1.X series).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, JSSE hostname verifier CN-fallback enabled by default despite documented opt-in. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bctls-fips 1.0.24 (1.0.X series), 2.0.24 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.24 (2.1.X series).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, CMS verifySignatures returns true for SignedData with zero signers. 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).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, OpenPGP CFB quick-check oracle active on symmetric/session-key paths. 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).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, S/MIME validator trusts signer-asserted signingTime for path validation. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bcmail-fips and bcjmail-fips 1.0.7 (1.0.X series), 2.0.7 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.7 (2.1.X series).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, CMS AuthenticatedData content not bound to MAC when authAttrs present. 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).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, OpenPGP inline-signature policy failures silently ignored. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bcpg-fips 2.0.13.

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, MLS hash-ratchet honours arbitrary 32-bit generation counter from sender.

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, OER parser recurses without depth limit on self-referential IEEE 1609.2 schema. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bcutil-fips 2.0.7 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.7 (2.1.X series).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, DTLS handshake reassembler allocates buffer from unchecked 24-bit length. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12, and Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bctls-fips 1.0.24 (1.0.X series), 2.0.24 (2.0.X series) and 2.1.24 (2.1.X series).

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, CRMF/CMP password-MAC honours unbounded iteration count. 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).