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CVE-2026-16001

Full vulnerability record from the local CVENow database.

Description

Exposure of the message authentication key through the encryption keystream in the stream mode of IesEngine (an IesEngine constructed without a block cipher) in Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. bc-csharp before 2.7.0 allows a remote attacker who has observed one encrypted message with known plaintext to forge shorter messages of their choosing that the recipient accepts as authentic, via a crafted ciphertext and MAC tag, because the MAC key was taken from the key derivation output directly after a keystream as long as the message, while the derivation input depends only on the static key pair and fixed parameters. The keystream revealed by that one message therefore contains the MAC key for every sufficiently shorter message.

Severity
HIGH
CVSS score
8.2 (v4.0)
Vulnerability status
Analyzed
Source identifier
91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630
Published
2026-10-02 07:16:36.537000
Last modified
2026-10-27 16:31:05.787000
View original CVE JSON
{
  "id": "CVE-2026-16001",
  "sourceIdentifier": "91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630",
  "published": "2026-10-02T07:16:36.537",
  "lastModified": "2026-10-27T16:31:05.787",
  "vulnStatus": "Analyzed",
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "Exposure of the message authentication key through the encryption keystream in the stream mode of IesEngine (an IesEngine constructed without a block cipher) in Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. bc-csharp before 2.7.0 allows a remote attacker who has observed one encrypted message with known plaintext to forge shorter messages of their choosing that the recipient accepts as authentic, via a crafted ciphertext and MAC tag, because the MAC key was taken from the key derivation output directly after a keystream as long as the message, while the derivation input depends only on the static key pair and fixed parameters. The keystream revealed by that one message therefore contains the MAC key for every sufficiently shorter message."
    }
  ],
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.",
          "product": "bc-csharp",
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "collectionURL": "https://www.nuget.org/packages/BouncyCastle.Cryptography",
          "packageName": "BouncyCastle.Cryptography",
          "programFiles": [
            "crypto/src/crypto/engines/IesEngine.cs"
          ],
          "repo": "https://github.com/bcgit/bc-csharp",
          "versions": [
            {
              "version": "0",
              "lessThan": "2.7.0",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "affected"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV40": [
      {
        "source": "91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630",
        "type": "Secondary",
        "cvssData": {
          "version": "4.0",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/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:X",
          "baseScore": 8.2,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "attackRequirements": "PRESENT",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
          "vulnIntegrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
          "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
          "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
          "subAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
          "exploitMaturity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "confidentialityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "integrityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "availabilityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackVector": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackComplexity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackRequirements": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedPrivilegesRequired": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedUserInteraction": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "Safety": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "Automatable": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "Recovery": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "valueDensity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "vulnerabilityResponseEffort": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "providerUrgency": "NOT_DEFINED"
        }
      }
    ],
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "source": "[email protected]",
        "type": "Primary",
        "cvssData": {
          "version": "3.1",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N",
          "baseScore": 7.5,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
          "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "availabilityImpact": "NONE"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 3.9,
        "impactScore": 3.6
      }
    ],
    "ssvcV203": [
      {
        "source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
        "ssvcData": {
          "timestamp": "2026-10-02T17:54:38.625547Z",
          "id": "CVE-2026-16001",
          "options": [
            {
              "exploitation": "none"
            },
            {
              "automatable": "no"
            },
            {
              "technicalImpact": "partial"
            }
          ],
          "role": "CISA Coordinator",
          "version": "2.0.3"
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "source": "91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630",
      "type": "Secondary",
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-354"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "configurations": [
    {
      "nodes": [
        {
          "operator": "OR",
          "negate": false,
          "cpeMatch": [
            {
              "vulnerable": true,
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:a:bouncycastle:bc-csharp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
              "versionEndExcluding": "2.7.0",
              "matchCriteriaId": "21A715E8-41BE-47EB-833D-07B9908CCF31"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/bcgit/bc-csharp/commit/f881400b761134160ec2a05fd27c3e569453788d",
      "source": "91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630",
      "tags": [
        "Patch"
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/bcgit/bc-csharp/wiki/CVE-2026-16001",
      "source": "91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630",
      "tags": [
        "Patch",
        "Vendor Advisory"
      ]
    }
  ]
}