Altered plaintext acceptance via swallowed truncation error
Published Oct 3, 2026 · Updated Oct 3, 2026
OpenPGP message truncation in Bouncy Castle Java before 1.86 allows attackers to pass crafted ciphertext without an integrity error. BCPGInputStream.nextPacketTag treats a missing-ciphertext EOF as normal packet exhaustion, preventing AEAD streams from reaching the final length tag and the high-level SEIPDv1 stream from running its modification detection check. The failure requires a specially aligned truncated message; LTS before 2.73.13 and affected FIPS bcpg-fips branches have only the AEAD route, which releases authenticated chunks but can silently discard following packets.
Summary
What happened
OpenPGP message truncation in Bouncy Castle Java before 1.86 allows attackers to pass crafted ciphertext without an integrity error. BCPGInputStream.nextPacketTag treats a missing-ciphertext EOF as normal packet exhaustion, preventing AEAD streams from reaching the final length tag and the high-level SEIPDv1 stream from running its modification detection check. The failure requires a specially aligned truncated message; LTS before 2.73.13 and affected FIPS bcpg-fips branches have only the AEAD route, which releases authenticated chunks but can silently discard following packets.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-85515
- Published
- Oct 3, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 3, 2026
- Vendor
- Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.
- Product
- Bouncy Castle Java
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 3, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 3, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=1.74 <1.86
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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