Observable Differences in Behavior to Error Inputs in Bouncy Castle
In Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC before 1.55 and BC-FJA before 1.0.2, attackers can obtain sensitive information about a private exponent because of Observable Differences in Behavior to Error Inputs. This occurs in org.bouncycastle.crypto.encodings.OAEPEncoding. Sending invalid ciphertext that decrypts to a short payload in the OAEP Decoder could result in the throwing of an early exception, potentially leaking some information about the private exponent of the RSA private key performing the encryption.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.bouncycastle:bc-fips | < 1.0.2 | 1.0.2 |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk15on | < 1.61 | 1.61 |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16 | < 1.61 | 1.61 |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 | < 1.61 | 1.61 |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 | < 1.61 | 1.61 |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on | < 1.61 | 1.61 |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15to18 | < 1.61 | 1.61 |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk16 | < 1.61 | 1.61 |
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-26939
- https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/commit/930f8b274c4f1f3a46e68b5441f1e7fadb57e8c1
- https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE-2020-26939
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8c36ba34e80e05eecb1f80071cc834d705616f315b634ec0c7d8f42e%40%3Cissues.solr.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8c36ba34e80e05eecb1f80071cc834d705616f315b634ec0c7d8f42e@%3Cissues.solr.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00007.html
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20201202-0005
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-203- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
org.bouncycastle:bc-fips, org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk15on, org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16- Disclosed
- 22.04.2021
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 12:21
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-72m5-fvvv-55m6 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: org.bouncycastle:bc-fips
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 13
- First → latest
- 04.2021 08.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 1
- High 3
- Medium 7
- Low 2
Disclosures per year
- 2021: 2
- 2022: 1
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 1
- 2025: 5
- 2026: 4
-
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