CVE-2016-1000346 in JCE Provider
Summary
by MITRE
In the Bouncy Castle JCE Provider version 1.55 and earlier the other party DH public key is not fully validated. This can cause issues as invalid keys can be used to reveal details about the other party's private key where static Diffie-Hellman is in use. As of release 1.56 the key parameters are checked on agreement calculation.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/13/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2016-1000346 represents a critical weakness in the Bouncy Castle Java Cryptography Extension provider that affected versions 1.55 and earlier. This flaw specifically impacts the Diffie-Hellman key exchange mechanism, which is fundamental to establishing secure communications between parties. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of the Diffie-Hellman public key provided by the remote party during the key agreement process, creating a potential information disclosure risk that could compromise the security of cryptographic communications.
The technical flaw occurs within the Diffie-Hellman key agreement implementation where the provider fails to properly validate the public key parameters of the remote party. This incomplete validation allows malicious actors to potentially submit invalid public keys that, when processed, can leak information about the local party's private key. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in static Diffie-Hellman configurations where the same key pairs are reused across multiple sessions, as this increases the exposure window for potential attacks. According to CWE-310, this represents a weakness in cryptographic key validation, specifically related to insufficient validation of cryptographic parameters.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it creates opportunities for advanced persistent attacks that could gradually compromise the security infrastructure. An attacker could potentially exploit this weakness to perform side-channel analysis or statistical attacks that infer private key information over multiple interactions. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1583.001, which involves establishing backdoors and creating persistent access points through cryptographic weaknesses. Organizations using affected versions of Bouncy Castle could experience reduced security assurance in their encrypted communications, particularly in environments where static Diffie-Hellman is implemented.
The remediation for this vulnerability was implemented in Bouncy Castle version 1.56, where the key parameters are now properly validated during the agreement calculation phase. This fix ensures that all Diffie-Hellman public key parameters are thoroughly checked before any cryptographic operations are performed. Security practitioners should immediately upgrade to version 1.56 or later to mitigate this risk, as the vulnerability affects the core cryptographic operations within the provider. Organizations should also conduct vulnerability assessments to identify any applications still using affected versions and ensure proper key validation is implemented in their cryptographic implementations. The fix demonstrates the importance of proper cryptographic parameter validation as outlined in NIST SP 800-57 and other cryptographic standards that require comprehensive validation of all cryptographic parameters to prevent information leakage and maintain security assurances.