CVE-2026-97873: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-78x9-mjv2-rr3v
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CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-97873 is a MODERATE security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-97873 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-97873
GHSA Identifier GHSA-78x9-mjv2-rr3v
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-97873

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-97873, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling, where the product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.86, the raw JCA provider's legacy PBES1 (PKCS#5 scheme 1) and PKCS#12 PBE families ran their password-based key derivation with an iteration count taken from untrusted input without bounding it, so a small input could dictate an arbitrary amount of work before anything could be verified. The AlgorithmParameters implementations (PKCS12PBE and its object identifier aliases, and PBKDF1) accepted any count from an encoded PKCS12PBEParams or PBEParameter, narrowing a value beyond the int range with intValue(), and every Cipher, Mac and SecretKeyFactory in these families derived with whatever count it was given, including one decoded by another provider's AlgorithmParameters, as when javax.crypto.EncryptedPrivateKeyInfo.getKeySpec() decrypts a PKCS#12 PBE-protected private key with BC. Both the parameter parse and the derivations now reject a negative or over-limit count under the org.bouncycastle.pbe.max_iteration_count property (default 10,000,000) that already bounded PBKDF2 (CVE-2026-17508), and the parse rejects a count beyond the int range rather than narrowing it. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.13.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-97873 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97873
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/commit/766a31026ac24ed3c6cad8662058ba450c338da1
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE%E2%80%902026%E2%80%9097873

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-97873?
CVE-2026-97873 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-97873?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-97873?
CVE-2026-97873 is classified under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-97873?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-78x9-mjv2-rr3v",
  "modified" : "2026-10-03T09:31:18Z",
  "published" : "2026-10-03T09:31:18Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-97873" ],
  "details" : "In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.86, the raw JCA provider's legacy PBES1 (PKCS#5 scheme 1) and PKCS#12 PBE families ran their password-based key derivation with an iteration count taken from untrusted input without bounding it, so a small input could dictate an arbitrary amount of work before anything could be verified. The AlgorithmParameters implementations (PKCS12PBE and its object identifier aliases, and PBKDF1) accepted any count from an encoded PKCS12PBEParams or PBEParameter, narrowing a value beyond the int range with intValue(), and every Cipher, Mac and SecretKeyFactory in these families derived with whatever count it was given, including one decoded by another provider's AlgorithmParameters, as when javax.crypto.EncryptedPrivateKeyInfo.getKeySpec() decrypts a PKCS#12 PBE-protected private key with BC. Both the parameter parse and the derivations now reject a negative or over-limit count under the org.bouncycastle.pbe.max_iteration_count property (default 10,000,000) that already bounded PBKDF2 (CVE-2026-17508), and the parse rejects a count beyond the int range rather than narrowing it. This issue also affects Bouncy Castle for Java LTS before 2.73.13.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/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"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97873"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/commit/766a31026ac24ed3c6cad8662058ba450c338da1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE%E2%80%902026%E2%80%9097873"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-10-03T09:17:06Z"
  }
}