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CVE-2026-63578

bc-csharp: Unbounded PBE iteration count when decrypting PKCS#8 private keys

Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. bc-csharp
CVSS
7.1High
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)0.33%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 24% of CVEs. Scored 23 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed in2.7.0Fixed versionCVE List
Published2 Oct 2026Updated 6 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

A fixed version on one release line is not the upgrade target for every line. Check your exact version and any vendor backports.

Description

Allocation of resources without limits in password-based private-key decryption (PbeUtilities.GenerateCipherParameters) in Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. bc-csharp before 2.7.0 allows an attacker who can supply an encrypted private key, such as a PKCS#8 EncryptedPrivateKeyInfo or "ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY" PEM file, to cause a denial of service through CPU exhaustion via an iteration count close to 2^31, because the count is taken from the unauthenticated algorithm parameters without an upper bound and the key derivation runs before the password or the data can be checked. PKCS#5 PBES1 and PBES2 (PBKDF2), the PKCS#12 PBE algorithms and CMS password recipients (CmsPbeKey) are affected. Loading PKCS#12 files with Pkcs12Store is covered by CVE-2026-63572, and a zero or negative count with the PKCS#12 algorithms by CVE-2026-63575.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 1

  • bc-csharpaffected: all versions before 2.7.0CVE List

References 6