CVE-2020-15522 — bc-fips
MEDIUMCVE-2020-15522 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.9) CWE-362 vulnerability in org.bouncycastle:bc-fips. A fix is available for org.bouncycastle:bc-fips — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Timing based private key exposure in Bouncy Castle
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
org.bouncycastle:bc-fips☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk15on☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15to18☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk16+1 moreReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Bouncy Castle BC Java before 1.66, BC C# .NET before 1.8.7, BC-FJA before 1.0.2.1, BC before 1.66, BC-FNA before 1.0.1.1 have a timing issue within the EC math library that can expose information about the private key when an attacker is able to observe timing information for the generation of multiple deterministic ECDSA signatures.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bc-fips | all versions | 1.0.2.1org.bouncycastle:bc-fips:1.0.2.1 |
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk15on | all versions | 1.66org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk15on:1.66 |
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16 | all versions | 1.66org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16:1.66 |
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 | all versions | 1.66org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14:1.66 |
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 | all versions | 1.66org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15:1.66 |
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on | all versions | 1.66org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on:1.66 |
Affected Products
bc-csharpbouncycastlebouncy castle fips .net apibouncycastlefips java apibouncycastlethe bouncy castle crypto package for javabouncycastleDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.bouncycastle:bc-fips, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.bouncycastle:bc-fips to 1.0.2.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-15522 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat EAP-XP 2.0.0 via EAP 7.3.x base | bouncycastle | RHSA-2021:2755 |
| Red Hat Fuse 7.10 | bouncycastle | RHSA-2021:5134 |
| Red Hat Fuse 7.8.1 | see advisory | RHSA-2021:1401 |
| RHINT Camel-K 1.6.4 | bouncycastle | RHSA-2022:1029 |
| RHINT Camel-Q 2.2.1 | see advisory | RHSA-2022:1013 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-15522 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, NuGet, including transitive dependencies.