CVE-2020-2755Network attack vector

Denial of service via malformed regular expressions

Published Apr 15, 2020 · Updated Sep 30, 2024

Denial of service in Oracle Java SE 8u241, 11.0.6, and 14 allows remote attackers to interrupt applications via crafted regular expressions. The Nashorn JavaScript engine’s regular-expression parser state machine mishandles empty-string nodes and raises an unexpected exception. Exploitation requires untrusted input to reach the Scripting API through an applet, Java Web Start application, or web service; the reported consequence is a partial service interruption.

CVSS severity3.7
Low
EPSS probability3.90%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Oracle Java SE 8u241, 11.0.6, and 14 allows remote attackers to interrupt applications via crafted regular expressions. The Nashorn JavaScript engine’s regular-expression parser state machine mishandles empty-string nodes and raises an unexpected exception. Exploitation requires untrusted input to reach the Scripting API through an applet, Java Web Start application, or web service; the reported consequence is a partial service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-2755
Published
Apr 15, 2020
Updated
Sep 30, 2024
Vendor
Oracle Corporation
Product
Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE)
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 15, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 30, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Java SE: 8u241, 11.0.6, 14
  2. Affected versionversion=Java SE Embedded: 8u241

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Oracle Corporation · Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE)version=Java SE: 8u241, 11.0.6, 14; version=Java SE Embedded: 8u241

Published CVSS scores

3.7Oracle CorporationCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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