CVE-2015-5321 in Jenkins
Summary
by MITRE
The sidepanel widgets in the CLI command overview and help pages in CloudBees Jenkins before 1.638 and LTS before 1.625.2 allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a direct request to the pages.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/27/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-5321 affects CloudBees Jenkins versions prior to 1.638 and LTS versions prior to 1.625.2, specifically targeting the sidepanel widgets within the command overview and help pages of the command line interface. This issue represents a sensitive information disclosure vulnerability that arises from inadequate access controls and improper authentication checks within the web interface components. The flaw allows remote attackers to bypass normal authorization mechanisms and directly access pages that should typically be restricted to authorized users only.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the design of the CLI command overview and help pages which incorporate sidepanel widgets that contain sensitive data. These widgets are intended to provide contextual information to legitimate users but fail to properly validate incoming requests before displaying their contents. When attackers make direct requests to these specific pages, they can retrieve information that would normally be protected, including configuration details, user credentials, system information, and other sensitive operational data. The vulnerability manifests because the system does not adequately distinguish between authenticated and unauthenticated requests when serving content from these help and overview pages.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it creates potential pathways for further exploitation and reconnaissance activities. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can gather detailed information about the Jenkins environment, including installed plugins, system configurations, and potentially user account details. This reconnaissance data can then be leveraged to plan more sophisticated attacks, such as privilege escalation attempts or targeted exploitation of other vulnerabilities within the Jenkins ecosystem. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors do not require physical access to the system or network to exploit this weakness, making it particularly dangerous in environments where Jenkins is exposed to untrusted networks.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement the recommended patches and updates to their Jenkins installations, specifically upgrading to versions 1.638 or later for the main release and 1.625.2 or later for the LTS release. Security teams should also conduct thorough assessments of their Jenkins environments to identify any other potential information disclosure vulnerabilities and ensure that proper access controls are implemented across all web interfaces. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be reviewed to limit unnecessary exposure of Jenkins instances to external networks, while also implementing monitoring solutions to detect unusual access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses improper exposure of sensitive information, and corresponds to techniques documented in the ATT&CK framework under information gathering and reconnaissance phases, highlighting the importance of proper access control implementation in web applications.
The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that the patch does not introduce regressions in functionality while also verifying that all sidepanel widgets properly enforce authentication requirements. Organizations should consider implementing additional security controls such as web application firewalls, rate limiting, and enhanced logging to provide defense in depth against similar vulnerabilities. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify and remediate other potential information disclosure issues within the Jenkins environment and related systems.