Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This issue can let a remote, unauthenticated attacker cause service disruption in Java applications using vulnerable jackson-databind. The impact is availability: deeply nested input can trigger a StackOverflow exception, potentially taking down request handling or a service. The sources do not indicate data theft or code execution.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority availability risk for internet-facing Java services and affected vendor platforms. Prioritize systems where unauthenticated users can submit JSON or object payloads, because outages are the primary business concern.
Technical view
CVE-2020-36518 affects jackson-databind before 2.13.0. The vulnerable behavior is denial of service through excessive nesting depth in parsed objects, producing a Java StackOverflow exception. The CVSS vector is network-accessible, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, with high availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in Java applications, APIs, or vendor products that bundle jackson-databind before 2.13.0 and parse attacker-controlled JSON or object content. Debian, Oracle, and NetApp advisories show downstream product and package relevance, but the bundle does not enumerate specific affected CPEs.
Exploitation context
The source bundle marks KEV as false and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. The CVSS profile still indicates realistic remote denial-of-service risk where vulnerable parsing is reachable without authentication.
Researcher notes
The bundle lists CWE-787, but the described failure mode is StackOverflow-driven denial of service from deep nesting. Affected data is sparse, so validation should rely on dependency evidence and vendor advisories rather than broad product assumptions.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade jackson-databind to 2.13.0 or later where directly managed.
- Apply Debian security updates if using affected Debian jackson-databind packages.
- Review Oracle and NetApp advisories for affected bundled products.
- Update transitive dependencies that pin vulnerable jackson-databind versions.
- Check vendor guidance when jackson-databind is embedded in third-party products.
Validation and detection
- Inventory SBOMs and dependency manifests for jackson-databind versions before 2.13.0.
- Check packaged JARs and container images for vulnerable jackson-databind artifacts.
- Identify public or partner-facing endpoints parsing untrusted JSON.
- Confirm vendor appliances or platforms have received referenced security updates.
- Run regression tests after dependency or vendor package updates.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-787: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-36518 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-databind/issues/2816CVE reference
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.htmlCVE reference
- [debian-lts-announce] 20220502 [SECURITY] [DLA 2990-1] jackson-databind security updateCVE reference · mailing-list
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.htmlCVE reference
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20220506-0004/CVE reference
- DSA-5283CVE reference · vendor-advisory
- [debian-lts-announce] 20221127 [SECURITY] [DLA 3207-1] jackson-databind security updateCVE reference · mailing-list
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Write
Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.