CVE-2026-63578: Unbounded PBE iteration count when decrypting PKCS#8 private keys

Is it exploited?

Not on CISA's list. CISA has not added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of 29 Oct 2026. If CISA adds it, this page shows it as known exploited.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

0.4%

Up from 0.3% on 22 Oct 2026.

EPSS score, percentile 31.5 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.

How severe?

7.1 High

CVSS v4.0 base score, given by the CNA

What should I do?

CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.

Advisories and patches (6)

Which versions are affected?

Affected

• before 2.7.0

Versions by product

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of 29 Oct 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 29 Oct 2026; CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

Advisories and patches

• github.com (Patch)
• github.com (Patch)
• github.com (Patch)
• github.com (Patch)
• github.com (Patch)
• github.com (Vendor advisory)

This summary is based on the CVE record as of 29 Oct 2026. Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.

Affected products and versions

As listed in the CVE record.

Versions not listed are: unaffected.

Source: CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

About this vulnerability

Allocation of resources without limits in password-based private-key decryption (PbeUtilities.GenerateCipherParameters) in Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. bc-csharp before 2.7.0 allows an attacker who can supply an encrypted private key, such as a PKCS#8 EncryptedPrivateKeyInfo or "ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY" PEM file, to cause a denial of service through CPU exhaustion via an iteration count close t…

Summary: CVE record, as of 29 Oct 2026.

• CISA has not added CVE-2026-63578 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, as of 29 Oct 2026.
• The CVE record was published on 2 Oct 2026.
• The CVE record carries a CVSS v4.0 base score of 7.1 (High), given by its CNA.
• FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.4% (percentile 31.5), as of 29 Oct 2026. EPSS is a statistical estimate, not a report of exploitation.
• CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact partial.
• The credits in the CVE record name Anthropic (Claude) as finder.

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of 29 Oct 2026; CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

Unbounded PBE iteration count when decrypting PKCS#8 private keys

Allocation of resources without limits in password-based private-key decryption (PbeUtilities.GenerateCipherParameters) in Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc. bc-csharp before 2.7.0 allows an attacker who can supply an encrypted private key, such as a PKCS#8 EncryptedPrivateKeyInfo or "ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY" PEM file, to cause a denial of service through CPU exhaustion via an iteration count close to 2^31, because the count is taken from the unauthenticated algorithm parameters without an upper bound and the key derivation runs before the password or the data can be checked. PKCS#5 PBES1 and PBES2 (PBKDF2), the PKCS#12 PBE algorithms and CMS password recipients (CmsPbeKey) are affected. Loading PKCS#12 files with Pkcs12Store is covered by CVE-2026-63572, and a zero or negative count with the PKCS#12 algorithms by CVE-2026-63575.

Source: CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

Timeline