CVE-2020-36179
HIGHCVE-2020-36179 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2020-36179 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Unsafe Deserialization in jackson-databind
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2020-36179.
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.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2020-36179 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 365,017 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind☕com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databindReal-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
FasterXML jackson-databind 2.x before 2.9.10.8 mishandles the interaction between serialization gadgets and typing, related to oadd.org.apache.commons.dbcp.cpdsadapter.DriverAdapterCPDS.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind | ≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.9.10.8 | 2.9.10.8 |
| ☕Maven | com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.6.7.5 | 2.6.7.5 |
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 com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind. 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 com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind to 2.9.10.8 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-36179 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-2020-36179 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-2020-36179. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
The following Red Hat products do ship the vulnerable component, but do not enable the unsafe conditions needed to exploit, lowering their vulnerability impact: * JBoss Data Grid 7 * Business Process Management Suite 6 * Business Rules Management Suite 6 * JBoss Data Virtualization 6 * Red Hat Fuse Service Works 6 *…
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-36179 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2020-36179 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.