CVE-2013-0329 in Jenkins
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in CloudBees Jenkins before 1.502 and LTS before 1.480.3 allows remote attackers to bypass the CSRF protection mechanism via unknown attack vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/01/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-0329 represents a critical security flaw in CloudBees Jenkins continuous integration platform that existed in versions prior to 1.502 and Long Term Support releases before 1.480.3. This issue specifically targets the Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) protection mechanism that is fundamental to web application security, allowing remote attackers to execute unauthorized actions against the Jenkins server without proper authentication. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple pathways could potentially exploit this weakness, making the vulnerability particularly concerning for security practitioners who must defend against unknown threat vectors.
The technical flaw lies within the implementation of Jenkins' CSRF protection system which is designed to prevent malicious actors from performing actions on behalf of authenticated users. When CSRF protection is bypassed, attackers can craft malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate users with valid session tokens. This vulnerability operates at the application layer and leverages the trust relationship between the web application and its users, effectively undermining the core principle of authentication and authorization controls that Jenkins relies upon to secure its build and deployment processes. The flaw can be categorized under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1211 where adversaries exploit web application vulnerabilities to perform unauthorized actions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it can enable attackers to perform critical administrative functions within Jenkins environments. An attacker who successfully bypasses the CSRF protection could potentially trigger builds, modify job configurations, access sensitive build artifacts, or even gain access to credentials stored within the Jenkins environment. This poses significant risks to organizations that rely on Jenkins for their software delivery pipelines, as compromised Jenkins instances can serve as entry points for broader network infiltration. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where Jenkins serves as a central hub for automated builds, deployments, and continuous integration processes, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to disrupt development workflows or extract sensitive information.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies that include upgrading to patched versions of Jenkins, which address the CSRF protection bypass issue through enhanced validation mechanisms. Additional protective measures include implementing network-level restrictions, configuring proper firewall rules to limit access to Jenkins instances, and ensuring that Jenkins is not exposed to untrusted networks. Security teams should also consider implementing additional authentication layers such as two-factor authentication, regular security audits of Jenkins configurations, and monitoring for suspicious activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that the patch does not introduce compatibility issues with existing Jenkins plugins or configurations while maintaining the integrity of the security controls that protect the CI/CD pipeline infrastructure.