GHSA-rcqc-6cw3-h962 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) CWE-863 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.
jackson-databind has a @JsonView bypass for unwrapped creator parameters
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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 GHSA-rcqc-6cw3-h962.
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
GHSA-rcqc-6cw3-h962 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 377,333 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% 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☕tools.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
Summary
UnwrappedPropertyHandler.processUnwrappedCreatorProperties() replays buffered JSON into creator parameters but never consults prop.visibleInView(activeView). The normal property-based creator path gates creator properties on the active view, but this unwrapped-creator replay path bypasses that check, so a constructor parameter annotated with both @JsonView(AdminView.class) and @JsonUnwrapped is populated from attacker JSON even when a more restrictive view is active.
Impact
View-restricted unwrapped creator parameters can be set from untrusted input where @JsonView is used as a write-side authorization boundary.
Affected / Patched (verified via git tag --contains)
- 2.21 line:
>= 2.21.0, < 2.21.4-> fixed in 2.21.4 (backport721fa07, #5973) - 3.x line:
>= 3.0.0, < 3.1.4-> fixed in 3.1.4 (#5971,d633bc0)
Severity / CWE
Maintainer: minor. Reporter: HIGH. CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization); related CWE-284.
Credits
Omkhar Arasaratnam (@omkhar) - finder.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind | ≥ 2.21.0&&< 2.21.4 | 2.21.4com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:2.21.4 |
| ☕Maven | tools.jackson.core:jackson-databind | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 3.1.4 | 3.1.4tools.jackson.core:jackson-databind:3.1.4 |
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 2.21.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-rcqc-6cw3-h962 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-rcqc-6cw3-h962 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-rcqc-6cw3-h962. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-rcqc-6cw3-h962 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-rcqc-6cw3-h962 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.