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Resource Allocation Without LimitsWeakness · CWE-770

CVE-2025-8916

MEDIUM · 6.3 CVSS v4.0 Published 2025-08-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC Java bcpkix on All (API modules), Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BC Java bcprov on All (API modules), Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. BCPKIX FIPS bcpkix-fips on All (API modules) allows Excessive Allocation. This vulnerability is associated with program files https://github.Com/bcgit/bc-java/blob/main/pkix/src/main/java/org/bouncycastle/pkix/jcajce/PKIXCertPathReviewer.Java, https://github.Com/bcgit/bc-java/blob/main/prov/src/main/java/org/bouncycastle/x509/PKIXCertPathReviewer.Java. This issue affects BC Java: from 1.44 through 1.78; BC Java: from 1.44 through 1.78; BCPKIX FIPS: from 1.0.0 through 1.0.7, from 2.0.0 through 2.0.7.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The PKIXCertPathReviewer class in Bouncy Castle Java libraries lacks proper resource limits when processing X.509 certificate paths. An attacker can provide a specially crafted certificate chain that triggers excessive memory allocation, leading to denial of service through resource exhaustion.

MitigationUpgrade Bouncy Castle libraries to versions beyond 1.78 (BC Java) and beyond 2.0.7/1.0.7 (BCPKIX FIPS). If immediate patching is not possible, implement application-level limits on certificate chain length and certificate processing to prevent excessive allocation.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
Authentication
X
User interaction
None
Scope
P

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/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:P/AU:X/R:U/V:X/RE:M/U:Amber

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate Bouncy Castle JAR files in the application
    Search the application directory, lib folder, or Maven/Gradle dependencies for JAR files containing 'bouncycastle' in the name, or check pom.xml/build.gradle for 'org.bouncycastle' dependencies. Run: find . -name '*bouncycastle*.jar' or grep -r 'bouncycastle' pom.xml build.gradle
    Affected if Bouncy Castle libraries are present in the application
  2. Identify the exact Bouncy Castle version
    For JAR files, check the manifest (unzip -p filename.jar META-INF/MANIFEST.MF) or examine the POM. For Maven/Gradle, run 'mvn dependency:list' or 'gradle dependencies' and look for bcprov, bcpkix, or bcpkix-fips artifacts with their versions
    Affected if The version is 1.78 or lower for bcprov/bcpkix, or 2.0.7/1.0.7 or lower for bcpkix-fips
  3. Determine if PKIXCertPathReviewer is in use
    Search source code for imports of 'org.bouncycastle.jce.provider.PKIXCertPathReviewer' or 'org.bouncycastle.fips.jsrxxx.PKIXCertPathReviewer'. Also check for usage of PKIXCertPathBuilder or certificate path validation logic that may implicitly use this class
    Affected if The application uses PKIXCertPathReviewer or any certificate path validation that relies on Bouncy Castle's PKIX implementation
  4. Check for application-level resource limits on certificate chains
    Search configuration files and code for any explicit limits on certificate chain length, certificate processing timeout, or memory constraints related to certificate validation. Look for custom PKIXParameters or similar configurations that may restrict path length
    Affected if No application-level limits are configured and the Bouncy Castle version is within the affected range

The environment is affected if Bouncy Castle libraries (bcprov/bcpkix version 1.78 or lower, or bcpkix-fips version 2.0.7/1.0.7 or lower) are present and PKIXCertPathReviewer is used for certificate validation without any external resource limits in place.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Bouncy Castle libraries to versions beyond 1.78 (BC Java) and beyond 2.0.7/1.0.7 (BCPKIX FIPS). If immediate patching is not possible, implement application-level limits on certificate chain length and certificate processing to prevent excessive allocation.

Recommended fix High confidence

BC Java: upgrade to version 1.79 or later (latest stable recommended); BCPKIX FIPS: upgrade to 1.0.8+ or 2.0.8+ depending on your major version

  1. 1. Identify the Bouncy Castle BC Java or BCPKIX FIPS library dependency in your project (Maven, Gradle, or other build system)
  2. 2. Locate the current version of bcpkix, bcprov, or bcpkix-fips in your dependency management file
  3. 3. Upgrade BC Java (bcpkix/bcprov) from version 1.44-1.78 to version 1.79 or later
  4. 4. If using BCPKIX FIPS, upgrade from version 1.0.0-1.0.7 to version 1.0.8 or later, OR from version 2.0.0-2.0.7 to version 2.0.8 or later
  5. 5. Rebuild and test your application to ensure the upgrade does not introduce regressions
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the resolved library version
Caveat Minor version upgrades in Bouncy Castle typically maintain backward compatibility; review release notes for any deprecation notices

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-8916 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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