Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Bouncy castle

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

9.8 · CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2018-1000613: 4.77% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 91.92 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Legion of the Bouncy Castle Java Cryptography APIs starting in version 1.57 and prior to version 1.60 contains a CWE-470: Use of Externally-Controlled Input to Select Classes or Code ('Unsafe Reflection') vulnerability in XMSS/XMSS^MT private key deserialization that can result in Deserializing an XMSS/XMSS^MT private key can result in the execution of unexpected code. This attack appear to be exploitable via A handcrafted private key can include references to unexpected classes which will be picked up from the class path for the executing application. This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in 1.60 and later.

Published by the source

17 Oct 2018, 16:23 UTC

Last modified by the source

12 May 2025, 21:40 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 16:36 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-4446-656p-f54g

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2018-1000613

Advisory: Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Bouncy castle
IDs: CVE-2018-1000613, GHSA-4446-656p-f54g
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2018-1000613 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 16:36 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.8)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on 1.60. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Maven org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on: affected >= 1.57, < 1.60; fixed in 1.60

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Maven org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-4446-656p-f54g (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-4446-656p-f54g lists affected ranges: Maven org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on >=1.57 <1.60)

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