EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Blast Radius
org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15to18☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk16☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on☕org.bouncycastle:bcpkix-jdk18on☕org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk15on+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 for Java before 1.73 contains a potential Denial of Service (DoS) issue within the Bouncy Castle org.bouncycastle.openssl.PEMParser class. This class parses OpenSSL PEM encoded streams containing X.509 certificates, PKCS8 encoded keys, and PKCS7 objects. Parsing a file that has crafted ASN.1 data through the PEMParser causes an OutOfMemoryError, which can enable a denial of service attack. (For users of the FIPS Java API: BC-FJA 1.0.2.3 and earlier are affected; BC-FJA 1.0.2.4 is fixed.)
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16 | all versions | 1.73 |
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk14 | all versions | 1.73 |
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15 | all versions | 1.73 |
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15to18 | all versions | 1.73 |
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk16 | all versions | 1.73 |
| ☕Maven | org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk15on | all versions | No fix |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.bouncycastle:bcprov-ext-jdk16 to 1.73 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-33202 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.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2023-33202 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2023-33202. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-33202 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2023-33202 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.