CVE-2026-18036

bouncycastle: In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.86, NTRU reduced secret values with the % operator in three helpers whose referenc...

CVE-2026-18036 is fixed in bouncycastle on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-18036, released October 3, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: Routine.

Routine
CVSS
n/a
No vendor severity
Exploitation
None reported
No vendor assessment
CISA KEV
Not listed
Not in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
EPSS
0.0028
20th percentile

In Bouncy Castle for Java before 1.86, NTRU reduced secret values with the % operator in three helpers whose reference implementations are deliberately division-free, so each reduction was carried out by an integer division whose latency depends on the secret operand. Polynomial.modQ divided by a variable divisor, which a compiler cannot strength-reduce to a multiply the way it can a constant one, so it emitted a division on every call including on the decapsulation path where the dividend derives from the private key; Polynomial.mod3 and NTRUSampling.mod3 divided the secret key polynomials f and g during key generation, the message polynomials r and m during encapsulation, and coefficients recovered during decapsulation. An attacker able to measure that timing can recover information about the NTRU private key. modQ now masks, which is exact because q is always a power of two, and mod3 uses the reference implementation's division-free fold and select; the results are unchanged.

Where it's fixed

ProductFixed inFixReleased
Linux
bouncycastle · Debian 14 1.86-1 DEBIAN-CVE-2026-18036 Oct 3, 2026
bouncycastle · opensuse-leap 16.0 1.86-160000.1.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:22169-1 Nov 7, 2026
bouncycastle · sles 15.6 1.86-150200.3.41.1 SUSE-SU-2026:4797-1 Nov 7, 2026
bouncycastle · sles 15.7 1.86-150200.3.41.1 SUSE-SU-2026:4797-1 Nov 7, 2026
bouncycastle · sles 16.0 1.86-160000.1.1 SUSE-SU-2026:24461-1 Nov 7, 2026

Patch Radar data is free to use with attribution. Terms and how to credit it.

Product names, logos and trademarks shown on Patch Radar belong to their respective owners. They are used only to identify the software each security fix applies to and to help readers find their platform. Their use does not imply any affiliation with, or endorsement by, those owners, and Patchblox is not affiliated with any of them.