HighCVE-2026-12185

    BKS/UBER keystore allocates from untrusted lengths before integrity check (CVE-2026-12185)

    Published Last modified Sources: Red Hat, BSI, SUSE, CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    A flaw was found in Bouncy Castle for Java. The BKS/UBER keystore component allocates memory based on untrusted length values before performing an integrity check.

    Update Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC-JAVA to version 1.85, Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC-LTS-JAVA to version 2.73.12.

    Affected
    • Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC-JAVA lt *..1.85
    • Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC-LTS-JAVA lt 2.73.0..2.73.12
    Fixed in
    • Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC-JAVA 1.85
    • Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC-LTS-JAVA 2.73.12

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    8.6

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    8.6

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: Red Hat, BSI, SUSE, CVE.org

    0.3 %

    EPSS score

    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 21.6

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    High
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    68.87 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    8.6 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    8.6
    CVSS v4

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    7.1
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    0.3 %
    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    21.6
    Elevated — this CVE ranks above at least 10% of all CVEs scored today.
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: none known · not automatable · Technical impact: partial
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 3 August 2026
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-789

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    A flaw was found in Bouncy Castle for Java. The BKS/UBER keystore component allocates memory based on untrusted length values before performing an integrity check. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability by providing a specially crafted keystore, leading to excessive memory allocation and a denial of service (DoS) condition.

    Source: redhat_csaf, BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF, suse_csaf, NVD (NIST), cvelistv5

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.BC-JAVA
    • < 1.85
    • 1.85
    Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.BC-LTS-JAVA
    • 2.73.0 – < 2.73.12
    • 2.73.12
    bouncycastlebc-java
    • < 1.85
    • 1.85
    bouncycastlebouncy_castle_for_java_lts
    • ≤ 2.73.11
    • —
    IBMLicense Metric Tool
    • < 9.2.44.2
    • 9.2.44.2
    IBMQRadar SIEM
    • < 7.6.0.3
    • <7.5.0 UP16 IF01
    • 7.6.0.3
    • —
    Open SourceBouncy Castle
    • Java FIPS (BC-FJA)
    • —
    Open SourceBouncy Castle Java LTS
    • < 2.73.12
    • 2.73.12

    Vendors and products

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-789Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value

      Variant

      The product allocates memory based on an untrusted, large size value, but it does not ensure that the size is within expected limits, allowing arbitrary amounts of memory to be allocated.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-789

    References & sources

    • github.combcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE‐2026‐12185Vendor advisory
    • github.combcgit/bc-java/commit/7bbd7fe5f44132e5b6140a2914435c12430eeb3dPatch

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. Initial analysis by NVDNVD

      CVSS V3.1: AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H

      Show 4 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      CVSSadded
      —
      AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
      Product configurationadded
      —
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bc-java:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 1.85 *cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bouncy_castle_for_java_lts:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (including) 2.73.11
      Reference typeadded
      —
      bcorg: https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/commit/7bbd7fe5f44132e5b6140a2914435c12430eeb3d Types: Patch
      Reference typeadded
      —
      bcorg: https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE%E2%80%902026%E2%80%9012185 Types: Third Party Advisory

      Source identifier: nvd@nist.gov

    2. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: none known, automatable: no

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      SSVC assessmentadded
      —
      {"id":"CVE-2026-12185","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"partial"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-08-03T13:29:56.930597Z"}

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    3. Record modifiedbcorg

      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE%E2%80%902026%E2%80%9012185
      Referenceremoved
      https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE-2026-12185
      —

      Source identifier: 91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630

    4. Receivedbcorg

      CVSS V4.0: AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/U:Amber

      Weakness type: CWE-789

      Description added or changed

      Show 6 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      BC-JAVA, BC-LTS-JAVA
      Descriptionadded
      —
      In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.85, BKS/UBER keystore allocates from untrusted lengths before integrity check. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.12.
      CVSSadded
      —
      AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:Amber
      Weakness type (CWE)added
      —
      CWE-789
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/commit/7bbd7fe5f44132e5b6140a2914435c12430eeb3d
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE-2026-12185

      Source identifier: 91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630

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