In Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS (BC-FJA) before versions 1.0.2.7 (1.0.X series), 2.0.2 (2.0.X series), and 2.1.3 (2.1.X series), sensitive key material held by AES and DESede engines, SP 800-90A DRBGs, SymmetricSecretKey, and PBKD and scrypt parameter classes was zeroised using Object.finalize. Because finalization runs asynchronously on a single thread with unspecified timing and order, objects with finalizers can accumulate in the finalization queue, delaying zeroisation and causing sensitive key material to remain in heap memory longer than intended. This can contribute to OutOfMemoryError under load and defeats the purpose of zeroisation. This issue does not affect Java 8 or 11 but impacts later JVMs where finalization is deprecated. The zeroisation approach was updated to use java.lang.ref.Cleaner on Java 9 and later, eliminating dependence on finalizers. Bouncy Castle for Java (bcprov) and LTS versions are unaffected as they do not implement finalizer-based zeroisation.

Sensitive cryptographic key material may remain in memory longer than intended due to delayed zeroisation, increasing the risk of key exposure in memory dumps or during memory analysis. Additionally, under high load, the accumulation of objects awaiting finalization can cause increased memory usage and potentially lead to OutOfMemoryError, impacting application stability. This issue is specific to certain versions of Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS and affects JVMs later than Java 11 where finalization is deprecated.

Upgrade Bouncy Castle for Java FIPS to versions 1.0.2.7 (1.0.X series), 2.0.2 (2.0.X series), or 2.1.3 (2.1.X series) or later, where the zeroisation mechanism uses java.lang.ref.Cleaner instead of Object.finalize. No mitigation is required for Bouncy Castle for Java (bcprov) or LTS versions as they are not affected. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed in the provided data; users should verify with the vendor advisory for the latest remediation guidance.