DefaultBaseTypeLimitingValidator is the PolymorphicTypeValidator applied automatically whenever @JsonTypeInfo is used without an explicitly configured custom validator. It denies polymorphic resolution only for a fixed set of unsafe base types, and its isSafeSubType method returns true unconditionally for every base type outside that set. java.lang.Comparable was absent from the list despite being implemented by a very large fraction of JDK and application classes, comparable in breadth to java.io.Serializable, which is on the list for that reason. An application declaring an @JsonTypeInfo-annotated property or class with Comparable as its base type, and no custom PolymorphicTypeValidator, will accept a type identifier for essentially any class implementing Comparable. This yields an attacker-controlled object instantiation primitive; a demonstrated case constructs a java.io.File for an arbitrary attacker-chosen path, which becomes path-traversal-adjacent if the application subsequently calls path-sensitive methods on the value. No class implementing Comparable has been identified that yields code execution through deserialization alone. Global Default Typing via activateDefaultTyping is not affected, because that method structurally requires an explicit PolymorphicTypeValidator argument. This affects com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind from 2.11.0 before 2.18.10, from 2.19.0 before 2.21.6, and from 2.22.0 before 2.22.2, and tools.jackson.core:jackson-databind from 3.0.0 before 3.1.6 and from 3.2.0 before 3.2.2. Users should upgrade to 2.18.10, 2.21.6, 2.22.2, 3.1.6, or 3.2.2.
Weakness
The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.
Potential Mitigations
- Make fields transient to protect them from deserialization.
- An attempt to serialize and then deserialize a class containing transient fields will result in NULLs where the transient data should be. This is an excellent way to prevent time, environment-based, or sensitive variables from being carried over and used improperly.
Related Attack Patterns
References
- https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-databind/commit/eb3b7fc0f9c0d27f471550ac3316b17d1987388f
- https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-databind/issues/6156
- https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-databind/pull/6155
- https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-databind/security/advisories/GHSA-gx83-3vf8-gh7j
- https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-databind/security/advisories/GHSA-gx83-3vf8-gh7j