CVE-2026-12852Network attack vector

Pre-auth process crash via oversized MLS allocation

Published Aug 3, 2026 · Updated Aug 3, 2026

Denial of service in Bouncy Castle Java 1.73 through 1.84 allows remote attackers to crash an MLS-consuming process with crafted MLS bytes. MLSInputStream.readOpaque() decodes an attacker-controlled Varint length and calls stream.readAll(size), allocating up to about 1 GiB before checking remaining input. The allocation occurs in initial unauthenticated fields before signature or MAC verification; concurrent small messages exhaust the JVM heap.

CVSS severity8.7
High
EPSS probability0.31%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Bouncy Castle Java 1.73 through 1.84 allows remote attackers to crash an MLS-consuming process with crafted MLS bytes. MLSInputStream.readOpaque() decodes an attacker-controlled Varint length and calls stream.readAll(size), allocating up to about 1 GiB before checking remaining input. The allocation occurs in initial unauthenticated fields before signature or MAC verification; concurrent small messages exhaust the JVM heap.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-12852
Published
Aug 3, 2026
Updated
Aug 3, 2026
Vendor
Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.
Product
Bouncy Castle Java
Classifications
CWE-789, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 3, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=1.73 <1.85

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. · Bouncy Castle Javaversion=1.73 <1.85

Published CVSS scores

8.7Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-789Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo