CVE-2020-28052 Logic error in Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC Java
The Bouncy Castle Java library incorrectly validates passwords, allowing attackers to bypass authentication using incorrect credentials.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2020-28052?
CVE-2020-28052 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Bouncycastle Bc-Java, published on 18 Dec 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
An issue was discovered in Legion of the Bouncy Castle BC Java 1.65 and 1.66. The OpenBSDBCrypt.checkPassword utility method compared incorrect data when checking the password, allowing incorrect passwords to indicate they were matching with previously hashed ones that were different.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-28052?
14 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk15on, org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16 and org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14. It affects 20 products.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk15on Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk15on Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16 Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16 Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
8 more packages
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15to18 Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15to18 Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk16 Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk16 Maven | From 1.65 | 1.67 |
Products include Apache Karaf, Bouncycastle Bc-Java, Oracle Banking Corporate Lending Process Management, Oracle Banking Credit Facilities Process Management, Oracle Banking Extensibility Workbench, Oracle Banking Supply Chain Finance and 14 more.
How do I fix CVE-2020-28052?
Upgrade org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk15on to 1.67 or later.
Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.
Is CVE-2020-28052 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-28052 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Public exploit code: 2 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Other vulnerabilities in Bouncycastle Bc-Java
- CVE-2026-91012 Apache Karaf: Path Traversal in Config Service Allows Manager-to-Admin Privilege Escalation
- CVE-2026-91048 Missing authorization in Apache Karaf
- CVE-2022-40145 Apache Karaf: JDBC JAAS LDAP injection
- CVE-2018-11788 XML External Entity Reference in Apache Karaf
- CVE-2026-92142 Apache Karaf: Authorization bypass in JMX MBean lifecycle operations
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2020-28052, GHSA-73xv-w5gp-frxh.