Vulnerabilities in pkg:maven/org.bouncycastle/bcprov-jdk15

Q: What is CVE-2015-7940?

CVE-2015-7940 is a security vulnerability in Bouncy Castle involving bcprov-jdk14 and org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.

Q: Which Bouncy Castle versions are affected?

Affected versions include releases prior to 1.51 across affected packages: org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15, org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14, org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on.

Q: What version fixes CVE-2015-7940?

Upgrading to 1.51 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.

Q: Is bcprov-jdk15 affected?

Yes, org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 is affected in releases prior to 1.51. Upgrade your dependency to 1.51 or later.

Q: Is bcprov-jdk14 affected?

Yes, org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 is affected in releases prior to 1.51. Upgrade your dependency to 1.51 or later.

Q: What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-7940?

CVE-2015-7940 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).

Q: How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2015-7940?

Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.bouncycastle'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.

PACKAGE

Advisory Identifier: GHSA-4mv7-cq75-3qjm

Advisory Summary

CVE-2015-7940 is a MODERATE bcprov-jdk14 and org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 vulnerability (CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) affecting Bouncy Castle libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves bcprov-jdk14 and org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.51.

16 Known Advisory Record(s)

Package Vulnerability Intelligence

pkg:maven/org.bouncycastle/bcprov-jdk15

16 Known Advisory Record(s)

Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:maven/org.bouncycastle/bcprov-jdk15. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.

Advisory ID	CVE / NVD	Severity	Summary
GHSA-4mv7-cq75-3qjm	CVE-2015-7940	MODERATE	Moderate severity vulnerability that affects org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 and org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15
GHSA-r97x-3g8f-gx3m	CVE-2016-1000340	HIGH	The Bouncy Castle JCE Provider carry a propagation bug
GHSA-4vhj-98r6-424h	CVE-2016-1000338	HIGH	In Bouncy Castle JCE Provider it is possible to inject extra elements in the sequence making up the signature and still have it validate
GHSA-xqj7-j8j5-f2xr	CVE-2018-1000180	HIGH	Bouncy Castle has a flaw in the Low-level interface to RSA key pair generator
GHSA-w285-wf9q-5w69	CVE-2016-1000352	HIGH	In Bouncy Castle JCE Provider the ECIES implementation allowed the use of ECB mode
GHSA-fjqm-246c-mwqg	CVE-2016-1000346	LOW	In Bouncy Castle JCE Provider the other party DH public key is not fully validated
GHSA-9gp4-qrff-c648	CVE-2016-1000345	MODERATE	Moderate severity vulnerability that affects org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 and org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15
GHSA-2j2x-hx4g-2gf4	CVE-2016-1000344	HIGH	In Bouncy Castle JCE Provider the DHIES implementation allowed the use of ECB mode
GHSA-rrvx-pwf8-p59p	CVE-2016-1000343	HIGH	In Bouncy Castle JCE Provider the DSA key pair generator generates a weak private key if used with default values
GHSA-r9ch-m4fh-fc7q	CVE-2016-1000341	MODERATE	Moderate severity vulnerability that affects org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 and org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15
GHSA-c8xf-m4ff-jcxj	CVE-2016-1000339	MODERATE	Moderate severity vulnerability that affects org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 and org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15
GHSA-qcj7-g2j5-g7r3	CVE-2016-1000342	HIGH	In Bouncy Castle JCE Provider ECDSA does not fully validate ASN.1 encoding of signature on verification
GHSA-6xx3-rg99-gc3p	CVE-2020-15522	MODERATE	Timing based private key exposure in Bouncy Castle
GHSA-72m5-fvvv-55m6	CVE-2020-26939	MODERATE	Observable Differences in Behavior to Error Inputs in Bouncy Castle
GHSA-wjxj-5m7g-mg7q	CVE-2023-33202	MODERATE	Bouncy Castle Denial of Service (DoS)
GHSA-73xv-w5gp-frxh	CVE-2020-28052	HIGH	Logic error in Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC Java

CVE-2015-7940 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2015-7940

GHSA Identifier GHSA-4mv7-cq75-3qjm

Severity MODERATE

CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A

CWE Classification CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

Affected Product Bouncy Castle

Package Ecosystem Maven

Published Date 2018-10-17

Last Updated 2025-09-12

How to Fix CVE-2015-7940

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

org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 fixed: 1.51

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.bouncycastle</groupId>
    <artifactId>bcprov-jdk15</artifactId>
    <version>1.51</version>
</dependency>

org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 fixed: 1.51

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.bouncycastle</groupId>
    <artifactId>bcprov-jdk14</artifactId>
    <version>1.51</version>
</dependency>

org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on fixed: 1.51

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.bouncycastle</groupId>
    <artifactId>bcprov-jdk15on</artifactId>
    <version>1.51</version>
</dependency>

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 -Dincludes=org.bouncycastle

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2015-7940, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.bouncycastle

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Bouncy Castle in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.51), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.bouncycastle 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-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor, where the product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. In Bouncy Castle, 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

The Bouncy Castle Java library before 1.51 does not validate a point is withing the elliptic curve, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain private keys via a series of crafted elliptic curve Diffie Hellman (ECDH) key exchanges, aka an "invalid curve attack."

CVE-2015-7940 Affected Bouncy Castle Versions

3 component(s)

Fixed Versions:

1.51

Product / Package	Ecosystem	Affected Versions	Fixed Version
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 maven/org.bouncycastle/bcprov-jdk15	Maven	< 1.51	1.51
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 maven/org.bouncycastle/bcprov-jdk14	Maven	< 1.51	1.51
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on maven/org.bouncycastle/bcprov-jdk15on	Maven	< 1.51	1.51

References

NVD — CVE-2015-7940 NVD

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-7940

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY

https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-4mv7-cq75-3qjm

usn.ubuntu.com/3727-1 WEB

https://usn.ubuntu.com/3727-1

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2020.html

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujan2019-5072801.html

lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-a... WEB

http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-January/174915.html

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2015-11/msg00012.html

rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2016-20... WEB

http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2035.html

rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2016-20... WEB

http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2036.html

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://web-in-security.blogspot.ca/2015/09/practical-invalid-curve-attacks.html

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.debian.org/security/2015/dsa-3417

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/10/22/7

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/10/22/9

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuapr2018-3678067.html

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujan2018-3236628.html

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2017-3236622.html

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2018-4258247.html

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2016-2881722.html

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2017-3236626.html

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/79091

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037036

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037046

Bouncy Castle Security Information SECURITY

http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037053

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-7940?

CVE-2015-7940 is a security vulnerability in Bouncy Castle involving bcprov-jdk14 and org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.

Which Bouncy Castle versions are affected?

Affected versions include releases prior to 1.51 across affected packages: org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15, org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14, org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on.

What version fixes CVE-2015-7940?

Upgrading to 1.51 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.

Is bcprov-jdk15 affected?

Yes, org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 is affected in releases prior to 1.51. Upgrade your dependency to 1.51 or later.

Is bcprov-jdk14 affected?

Yes, org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 is affected in releases prior to 1.51. Upgrade your dependency to 1.51 or later.

What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-7940?

CVE-2015-7940 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).

How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2015-7940?

Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.bouncycastle'. 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

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Advisory Metadata

Source ID: GHSA-4mv7-cq75-3qjm
Schema Version: 1.4.0
Published: 2018-10-17 16:27
Last Modified: 2025-09-12 19:30
Database Record File: advisories/github-reviewed/2018/10/GHSA-4mv7-cq75-3qjm/GHSA-4mv7-cq75-3qjm.json