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BLS12-381 key validation accepts a public key built on a foreign curve

Type: advisorySource: Official CVE List1 source record

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.86, BLS12_381BasicScheme.keyValidate, and so BLSPublicKeyParameters and every BasicScheme, MessageAugmentation and ProofOfPossession verify and aggregateVerify that gate on it, accepted a public key built on a foreign ECCurve that merely shares BLS12-381's field characteristic. The prime-order subgroup check trusts a point's own curve to name its cofactor, since ECPoint.satisfiesOrder returns true outright when the curve's cofactor is one, so a point on a curve with a different equation and a cofactor forged to one passed keyValidate despite not being a G1 point at all. In BC's pairing implementation such a point contributes the identity in the target group, so an aggregate signature verified against a set of public keys including it is accepted even though it contains no signature for that key and message pair, admitting a phantom signer. keyValidate now first confirms that the point's curve carries exactly the canonical G1 field, equation, order and cofactor before any subgroup check. The issue is reachable only where an application constructs an ECPoint on an explicit, non-canonical curve and accepts it as an authority-bearing key; the standard 48-byte compressed-point decoder always supplies the canonical curve and was never affected.

Announced Source revision 1
Original source ↗

CVE-2026-71891

Primary source · Revision 1

Imported from structured advisory data. Source references identify upstream records or fields; verify affected versions and your deployed configuration.

Security context

Source reference: cve:CVE-2026-71891

BC-JAVA

Source reference: /containers/cna/affected/0/product

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
Not stated in this record
Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

Structured affected-version data

Original package identities and version rules from this source.

[
  {
    "repo": "https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java",
    "vendor": "Legion of the Bouncy Castle Inc.",
    "modules": [
      "core"
    ],
    "product": "BC-JAVA",
    "versions": [
      {
        "status": "affected",
        "version": "1.85",
        "lessThan": "1.86",
        "versionType": "maven"
      }
    ],
    "platforms": [
      "all"
    ],
    "packageURL": "pkg:maven/org.bouncycastle/bcprov-jdk18on",
    "packageName": "bcprov",
    "programFiles": [
      "BLS12_381BasicScheme",
      "BLS12_381G1"
    ],
    "collectionURL": "https://www.bouncycastle.org/download/bouncy-castle-java/",
    "defaultStatus": "unaffected"
  }
]
Related CVEs
CVE-2026-71891

Source reference: /cveMetadata/cveId

Publisher severity

high

Source reference: /containers/cna/metrics

Event
#8776 · Revision 1
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Publisher date
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