How severe is CVE-2020-36189?

CVE-2020-36189 has a CVSS score of 8.1/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-36189?

CVE-2020-36189 affects the following packages: com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind (Maven), com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2020-36189?

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-2020-36189 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2020-36189 in my Maven dependencies?

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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-36189 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is CVE-2020-36189 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2020-36189 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2020-36189?

CVE-2020-36189 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 4.0%, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2020-36189?

CVE-2020-36189 is classified as Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2020-36189 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-36189 was published on January 6, 2021 and was last updated on August 27, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2020-36189 — jackson-databind

HIGHFix: FasterXML/jackson-databind@33d96c1

CVE-2020-36189 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind. A fix is available for com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Unsafe Deserialization in jackson-databind

Also known asGHSA-vfqx-33qm-g869

Published

Jan 6, 2021

Updated

Aug 27, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Oct 7, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

4.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk+0.05%

Lower risk than most CVEs90th percentile — riskier than 90% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2020-36189 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected

☕com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind☕com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind

Real-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 an 2.6.7.5 mishandles the interaction between serialization gadgets and typing, related to com.newrelic.agent.deps.ch.qos.logback.core.db.DriverManagerConnectionSource.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind`	≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.9.10.8	2.9.10.8`com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:2.9.10.8`
☕Maven	`com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind`	all versions	2.6.7.5`com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:2.6.7.5`

Affected Products

40 products · 67 configurations

debian linuxdebian

1 version

9.0

Application

jackson-databindfasterxml

≥ 2.7.0 && < 2.9.10.8

range

Application

cloud backupnetapp

all

Application

service level managernetapp

all

Application

agile product lifecycle managementoracle

1 version

9.3.6

Application

application testing suiteoracle

1 version

13.3.0.1

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
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-2020-36189 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.

Red HatImportant

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 *…

Workaround published by Red Hat

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-2020-36189 (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

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2020-36189 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

8.1/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

High

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE Classification

CWE-502Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Weaponization

No known public exploit tooling found.

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

jackson-databind

8.1/10

Maintained10/10

Code-Review3/10

Branch-Protection3/10

Assessed Oct 5, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Jan 6, 2021

Last updated

Aug 27, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2020-36189

GHSA-vfqx-33qm-g869

References

Advisorylists.debian.org Advisorysecurity.netapp.com Advisoryoracle.com Advisorynvd.nist.gov Fixoracle.com Fixoracle.com Fixoracle.com Fixoracle.com Fixoracle.com Reportgithub.com Webgithub.com Websecurity.netapp.com Packagegithub.com Evidencecowtowncoder.medium.com

Related vulnerabilities

This CVE is high severity — higher than any of the other 8 CVEs affecting jackson-databind (highest there: moderate).

CVE-2026-59888CVE-2026-59889GHSA-mhm7-754m-9p8wCVE-2026-50193CVE-2026-54517CVE-2026-54515CVE-2026-54516CVE-2026-54514

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedAug 27, 2026

CVE-2020-36189 — jackson-databind

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

Description

Affected Packages

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Fix

Workarounds

Fixing This On Your OS

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2020-36189 in your dependencies?