Executive Summary

CVE‑2020‑5411 exposes a Jackson deserialization flaw that, when default typing is enabled, allows arbitrary code execution. Spring Batch serializes job ExecutionContext with Jackson’s default typing; if an attacker can write to the JobRepository datastore, they can inject malicious payloads. Jackson mitigates by blacklisting known gadget classes, but Spring Batch must proactively block unknown deserialization gadgets to prevent exploitation. The vulnerability is not yet listed in CISA KEV.

---

Authoritative CVE Metadata - CVSS Base Score: 8.1 (HIGH) - Published: 2020-06-11T17:15:12.410 - Last Modified: 2026-09-01T18:07:18.263

Original Description: When configured to enable default typing, Jackson contained a deserialization vulnerability that could lead to arbitrary code execution. Jackson fixed this vulnerability by blacklisting known "deserialization gadgets". Spring Batch configures Jackson with global default typing enabled which means that through the previous exploit, arbitrary code could be executed if all of the following is true: * Spring Batch's Jackson support is being leveraged to serialize a job's ExecutionContext. * A malicious user gains write access to the data store used by the JobRepository (where the data to be deserialized is stored). In order to protect against this type of attack, Jackson prevents a set of untrusted gadget classes from being deserialized. Spring Batch should be proactive against blocking unknown "deserialization gadgets" when enabling default typing.

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

— Michelangelo