CVE-2020-36185 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Unsafe Deserialization in jackson-databind
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2020-36185 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,386 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
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 org.apache.tomcat.dbcp.dbcp2.datasources.SharedPoolDataSource.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.9.10.8 | 2.9.10.8com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:2.9.10.8 |
Affected Products
debian linuxdebianjackson-databindfasterxmlcloud backupnetappservice level managernetappagile product lifecycle managementoracleapplication testing suiteoracleResearch 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, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
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-2020-36185 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Do not deserialise data from untrusted sources: where the format allows it, restrict deserialisation to an explicit allowlist of expected types, and prefer a data-only format (JSON, Protobuf) over one that can reconstruct arbitrary objects until you can upgrade.
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 *…
The following conditions are needed for an exploit, we recommend avoiding all if possible: * Deserialization from sources you do not control * `enableDefaultTyping()` * `@JsonTypeInfo using `id.CLASS` or `id.MINIMAL_CLASS` * avoid: oadd.org.apache.commons.dbcp.cpdsadapter.DriverAdapterCPDS, org.apache.commons.dbcp2.cpdsadapter.DriverAdapterCPDS, org.apache.tomcat.dbcp.dbcp.cpdsadapter.DriverAdapterCPDS, org.apache.tomcat.dbcp.dbcp2.cpdsadapter.DriverAdapterCPDS, org.docx4j.org.apache.xalan.lib.sql.JNDIConnectionPool, org.apache.tomcat.dbcp.dbcp2.datasources.PerUserPoolDataSource, org.apache.tomcat.dbcp.dbcp2.datasources.SharedPoolDataSource,…Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2020-36185 (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| OpenShift Logging 5.0 | openshift-logging/elasticsearch6-rhel8:v5.0.3-1 | RHSA-2021:1515 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6 | openshift4/ose-logging-elasticsearch6:v4.6.0-202104161407.p0 | RHSA-2021:1230 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-36185 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.