CVE-2020-36181

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2020-36181?

CVE-2020-36181 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (HIGH). This vulnerability in FasterXML jackson-databind allows remote code execution through deserialization of untrusted data. Attackers can exploit the interaction between serialization gadgets and typing features to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. Any application using vulnerable versions of jackson-databind with default or polymorphic typing enabled is at risk.

8.1 HIGH

Remote Code Execution Deserialization

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in FasterXML jackson-databind allows remote code execution through deserialization of untrusted data. Attackers can exploit the interaction between serialization gadgets and typing features to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. Any application using vulnerable versions of jackson-databind with default or polymorphic typing enabled is at risk.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

FasterXML jackson-databind
Applications using jackson-databind for JSON processing

Versions: 2.x before 2.9.10.8

Operating Systems: All

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Vulnerability requires enabling default typing or polymorphic type handling. Many applications use these features for JSON deserialization.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system compromise allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code with application privileges, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement.

🟠

Likely Case

Remote code execution leading to application compromise, data exfiltration, or service disruption.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if proper input validation and deserialization controls are in place, potentially reduced to denial of service.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires sending specially crafted JSON payloads to endpoints that deserialize untrusted data with typing enabled.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 2.9.10.8 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-databind/issues/3004

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update jackson-databind dependency to version 2.9.10.8 or later. 2. Update pom.xml or build.gradle to reference patched version. 3. Rebuild and redeploy application. 4. Restart affected services.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable default typing

all

Disable polymorphic type handling in ObjectMapper configuration

ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
mapper.activateDefaultTyping(null);

Input validation

all

Implement strict input validation and only deserialize trusted sources

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement network segmentation to isolate vulnerable systems
Deploy web application firewall with JSON deserialization protection rules

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check application dependencies for jackson-databind version 2.x < 2.9.10.8

Check Version:

mvn dependency:tree | grep jackson-databind OR gradle dependencies | grep jackson-databind

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify jackson-databind version is 2.9.10.8 or higher in dependencies

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual deserialization errors
Unexpected class loading in logs
Stack traces containing DriverAdapterCPDS or related classes

Network Indicators:

Large JSON payloads to deserialization endpoints
Requests with polymorphic type indicators

SIEM Query:

source="application.logs" AND ("DriverAdapterCPDS" OR "deserialization error" OR "ClassNotFoundException")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2020-36181

CVSS v3 Score: 8.1 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-502

Published: January 6, 2021

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://cowtowncoder.medium.com/on-jackson-cves-dont-panic-here-is-what-you-need-to-know-54cd0d6e8062 Exploit,Technical Description,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-databind/issues/3004 Issue Tracking,Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/04/msg00025.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210205-0005/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.html Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://cowtowncoder.medium.com/on-jackson-cves-dont-panic-here-is-what-you-need-to-know-54cd0d6e8062 Exploit,Technical Description,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-databind/issues/3004 Issue Tracking,Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/04/msg00025.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210205-0005/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.html Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html Patch,Third Party Advisory

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

Agile Plm by Oracle

Application Testing Suite by Oracle

Autovue For Agile Product Lifecycle Management by Oracle

Banking Corporate Lending Process Management by Oracle

Banking Corporate Lending Process Management by Oracle

Banking Corporate Lending Process Management by Oracle

Banking Credit Facilities Process Management by Oracle

Banking Credit Facilities Process Management by Oracle

Banking Credit Facilities Process Management by Oracle

Banking Extensibility Workbench by Oracle

Banking Extensibility Workbench by Oracle

Banking Extensibility Workbench by Oracle

Banking Supply Chain Finance by Oracle

Banking Supply Chain Finance by Oracle

Banking Supply Chain Finance by Oracle

Banking Treasury Management by Oracle

Banking Virtual Account Management by Oracle

Banking Virtual Account Management by Oracle

Banking Virtual Account Management by Oracle

Blockchain Platform by Oracle

Commerce Platform by Oracle

Commerce Platform by Oracle

Communications Billing And Revenue Management by Oracle

Communications Billing And Revenue Management by Oracle

Communications Cloud Native Core Policy by Oracle

Communications Cloud Native Core Unified Data Repository by Oracle

Communications Convergent Charging Controller by Oracle

Communications Diameter Signaling Route by Oracle

Communications Element Manager by Oracle

Communications Evolved Communications Application Server by Oracle

Communications Instant Messaging Server by Oracle

Communications Network Charging And Control by Oracle

Communications Offline Mediation Controller by Oracle

Communications Policy Management by Oracle

Communications Pricing Design Center by Oracle

Communications Services Gatekeeper by Oracle

Communications Session Report Manager by Oracle

Communications Session Route Manager by Oracle

Communications Unified Inventory Management by Oracle

Data Integrator by Oracle

Debian Linux by Debian

Documaker by Oracle

Documaker by Oracle

Documaker by Oracle

Goldengate Application Adapters by Oracle

Insurance Policy Administration by Oracle

Insurance Policy Administration by Oracle

Insurance Rules Palette by Oracle

Insurance Rules Palette by Oracle

Jackson Databind by Fasterxml

Jackson Databind by Fasterxml

Jd Edwards Enterpriseone Orchestrator by Oracle

Jd Edwards Enterpriseone Tools by Oracle

Primavera Gateway by Oracle

Primavera Gateway by Oracle

Primavera Gateway by Oracle

Primavera Gateway by Oracle

Primavera Unifier by Oracle

Primavera Unifier by Oracle

Primavera Unifier by Oracle

Primavera Unifier by Oracle

Primavera Unifier by Oracle

Retail Customer Management And Segmentation Foundation by Oracle

Retail Merchandising System by Oracle

Retail Service Backbone by Oracle

Retail Service Backbone by Oracle

Retail Service Backbone by Oracle

Retail Xstore Point Of Service by Oracle

Retail Xstore Point Of Service by Oracle

Retail Xstore Point Of Service by Oracle

Retail Xstore Point Of Service by Oracle

Service Level Manager by Netapp

Webcenter Portal by Oracle

Webcenter Portal by Oracle

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case