CVE-2026-8798
Native entropy source retries the CPU entropy instructions without limit
Description
In Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 2.1.3, the native entropy source used on Intel platforms retried the CPU entropy instructions without any bound. RDSEED and RDRAND report failure through their carry flag, and the JNI seeding routine spun re-issuing the instruction for as long as that flag stayed clear, so a persistent failure of the on-chip entropy source - whether from a hardware fault, from the underlying DRBG being exhausted by contention across many cores, or from a hypervisor that does not provide the instruction - left the calling thread looping indefinitely inside the JNI call, where it could be neither interrupted nor timed out. Any operation drawing from the native entropy source could therefore hang, denying service to the application. The retry loops are now bounded (200 attempts for RDSEED and 20 for RDRAND, twice the baselines given in Intel's Digital Random Number Generator software implementation guide), pausing between attempts and, on exhaustion, clearing any partially written buffer and throwing rather than continuing to spin. The clear is performed by an un-elidable memzero, which uses a volatile pointer and an assembly memory barrier so that a compiler cannot optimise the erase away as a dead store. Bouncy Castle for Java (bcprov) is not affected, as it has no native entropy source; the 1.0.X and 2.0.X FIPS series are not affected.
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 8, 2026, 1:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 8, 2026, 1:16 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-8798
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | 91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630 | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | 91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630 |
Solution
- Update Bouncy Castle FIPS to version 2.1.3 or later.
- Apply patches if available for older versions.
- Ensure the system's entropy source is functioning correctly.
- Verify the DRBG is not exhausted.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-8798.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE%E2%80%902026%E2%80%908798 |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-8798 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-8798
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-8798 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-8798 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by 91579145-5d7b-4cc5-b925-a0262ff19630
Aug. 08, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.', 'product': 'BC-FJA', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '2.1.0', 'lessThan': '2.1.3', 'versionType': 'maven'}], 'platforms': ['x86', 'x86-64'], 'packageURL': 'pkg:maven/org.bouncycastle/bc-fips', 'packageName': 'bc-fips', 'programFiles': ['rand_jni.c', 'NativeEntropySource'], 'collectionURL': 'https://www.bouncycastle.org/download/bouncy-castle-java-fips/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] Added Description In Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before bc-fips 2.1.3, the native entropy source used on Intel platforms retried the CPU entropy instructions without any bound. RDSEED and RDRAND report failure through their carry flag, and the JNI seeding routine spun re-issuing the instruction for as long as that flag stayed clear, so a persistent failure of the on-chip entropy source - whether from a hardware fault, from the underlying DRBG being exhausted by contention across many cores, or from a hypervisor that does not provide the instruction - left the calling thread looping indefinitely inside the JNI call, where it could be neither interrupted nor timed out. Any operation drawing from the native entropy source could therefore hang, denying service to the application. The retry loops are now bounded (200 attempts for RDSEED and 20 for RDRAND, twice the baselines given in Intel's Digital Random Number Generator software implementation guide), pausing between attempts and, on exhaustion, clearing any partially written buffer and throwing rather than continuing to spin. The clear is performed by an un-elidable memzero, which uses a volatile pointer and an assembly memory barrier so that a compiler cannot optimise the erase away as a dead store. Bouncy Castle for Java (bcprov) is not affected, as it has no native entropy source; the 1.0.X and 2.0.X FIPS series are not affected. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/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:Amber Added CWE CWE-835 Added Reference https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java/wiki/CVE%E2%80%902026%E2%80%908798